


Icarus           Dick GraysonxWally's Sister!Reader

by TheMadDukeOfU



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), DCU, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Depression, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-29 15:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 39,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13929507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMadDukeOfU/pseuds/TheMadDukeOfU
Summary: (Y/N) West was a normal kid. Compared to her older brother Wally, at least. She didn't have any powers and wasn't part of any team. Until one day, she and Wally were in an abandoned warehouse when a horrible fire of an unknown cause broke out.  Stuck with no way out, she collapsed. When she finally woke up, her new powers manifested themselves. Deciding to keep them a secret from everyone besides her brother, she joins the Young Justice team. And that's where we hit the fire.--------------------------------Disclaimer- Language- This is reader insert, but only with the name. Weapons and powers and (semi) looks are already chosen. Sorry    \ (•◡•) /- Some mentions of self-harm and depression (But that's far in the future, don't worry)I do not own Young Justice © or DC ©





	1. Beginnings

"C'mon, (Y/N), it'll be fun!"  Your older brother punched your arm playfully. "The West siblings, exploring unknown territory... An abandoned warehouse!" You scoffed.

"Wally, please. It could be dangerous!" You looked at him. "Also, we live in the city. It'll take us, well,  _me_ , at least 30 minutes to get there, and it's already nighttime." 

"(YYYY/NNNNNN)..." He groaned. "This is Central City, not Gotham! I'll even carry you there. We'll be there in no time!" He looked sideways at you. "Plus, you're starting to sound like Dick." You rolled your eyes. You and Richard Grayson had been friends for as long as he had been friends with Wally. Dick was a kind but paranoid and reckless person. Not a good combination.

You sighed in defeat. "Fine. Let me get changed first." Wally pumped his fist and walked out of the room. 

"I'll be back in 5!" He said before closing the door. You threw your head back and leaned back in your chair. Having a crazy older brother is one thing. But having a crazy, superhero older brother with super speed? That's completely different. He was two years older than you, you being 13 and him 15. You loved him anyways though, with all of his weirdness and how he  _ate so goddamn much_. You shook your head to clear the thoughts, put on a pair of torn skinny jeans and some boots and turned to the door just as Wally opened it.

"Wally!" You said scornfully.

"What?"

"I could have been changing!"

"But you weren't, so let's go." He walked in and dragged you by the arm to the outside. He kneeled down on the grass of your front lawn and gestured for you to hop on his back. You did so, and he stood up. "Ready?" He asked.

"Ready as ever, Walman." You smirked as he groaned.

"I really hate when you call me that." He said, before speeding off without warning.

"Wally!" You screamed into the wind as you hugged his shoulders. You faintly heard his laugh in response.

~~

Five minutes later, and you were standing outside the warehouse. You flipped Wally off once he put you down, running your fingers through your windswept hair. He stuck his tongue out. You flipped him off with the other hand. Wally just laughed and walked through the door to the warehouse. You gulped and glanced around before hurrying after him.

"Wally?" You called out. It was pitch black inside. Turning on your phone for light, you looked around. You walked further inside,  skin crawling.  The darkness seemed to have eyes, peering at you from who knows where. There was a lot of wooden wreckage, seeming to have come from the formerly second floor. Now it was just in your way.  You rested your hand against a plank for a second, before pulling away with a hiss. A splinter had embedded itself into your palm. You pulled it out and made a mental reminder not to put your hands on the wood anymore. 

Suddenly, Wally jumped out in front of you, yelling "BOO!" 

You shrieked and accidentally punched him in the face.

"Ow, Jesus Christ, (Y/N)!" He laughed, rubbing his face.

"Oh my  _lord_ , Wallace, Wally, my brother, my man, I love you, but never, ever do that to me again!" Your breathing was labored and adrenalin was running through your veins. This just made him laugh harder.

"You should have seen your face!" He wheezed and put his hands on his knees. 

"Not funny, Wally!" His only response was to keep laughing.

You scowled and brought up your light to shine in his eyes. He squinted.

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry (Y/N). Would you please get that light out of my eyes?" Wally said. You huffed and rolled your eyes.

"Now, remind me why we're here again?" You asked, glancing sideways at your brother. 

"Uh,  _duh._  It's a warehouse! Who knows what could be here!" He grinned. "Hidden treasure, dangerous chemicals, a secret hoard of fidget spinners, a -"

"Criminals?" You cut him off. He groaned.

"(Y/N), I told you, this is Central City,  _there's no one here_. Plus, if there was, I'd be here to protect you." He flexed his nonexistent muscles. You chuckled.

"Dork." You flicked his forehead. All of a sudden, a clang rang through the warehouse. You flinched.  "What was that?" You whispered. 

Wally frowned and zoomed off before reappearing in front of you after a few seconds. He shrugged. "A mouse must have knocked something over. There's no one here." You breathed a sigh of relief. "Also, I found a pretty cool room for you to check out. I think you'd like it." He led you to a small, dimly lit room. 

"Whoah..." You breathed.

"Pretty cool, right?" He said. You nodded. The walls of the room were covered with shelves and shelves of books. On the tops of most of the shelves there several small vials. You ran your hand across the spines of the books, fingertips coming away covered in dust.

"Why would a place like this have a room like this?" You wondered. Wally shrugged.

"I take it you'll be in here a bit longer, so I'm going to walk around, see if I can find something cool." He walked away, quietly chanting  _"Fidget spinners"_  over and over again under his breath.

You rolled your eyes, picking up a random book.

~~

A while later, you were starting to feel uncomfortable. The jacket you were wearing was starting to feel a bit  _too_  warm. You shrugged it off as excitement and continued reading. However, as time went on, the heat became stronger and stronger. The air in front of you seemed to get a bit hazy, and your throat started to hurt. After coughing a few times, you started to acknowledge something was wrong.

"(Y/N)?!" You heard from the outside. You turned around and gasped.

"Wally!" You screamed, frantically looking around for a way to get out. Flames had engulfed the doorway, and smoke was pouring out of the vents.

"(Y/N)!!" Your brother screamed back from the other side of the wall of flames. "It's too hot, I can't get through!" 

You sobbed, the heat worsening as the flames backed you into a corner. The tears sizzled on your cheeks. "(Y/N), don't give up hope! I'll get you out of there, sis!"

"Hurry..." Your voice was starting to get hoarse from the smoke. You leaned against a shelf behind you, accidentally knocking it and the shelf next to it over. All you saw was a radioactive sign on a small vail before something slammed into your head and everything went dark.

The darkness was constant. It never went away completely. Occasionally the darkness would lessen, and voices would find their way through the fog of your mind.

_(Y/N)... Wake up..._

You were confused. Wake up from what? The recesses of your mind were all that you were used to.

_Terrible burns... Constant fever..._

They were saying things that you didn't understand,  _Are they talking about me?_  

After being in the darkness for what felt like forever, you gathered up the seemingly massive amount strength it took to open up your eyes. It took a while for them to adjust, but everything was white. Assuming you were in a hospital of some sort, you turned your head to the right. There were two people sitting there, in chairs that seemed uncomfortable. You blinked a couple times. The people turned out to be Dick Grayson and your brother. You laughed softly at their positioning. They were leaned up against each other, with a line of drool from Wally's mouth on Dick's head. The laugh soon turned into a rasping cough. The sound woke the boys up and they gasped when they saw you were awake.

"(Y/N)!" They said together. Wally quickly ran out of the room and came back with a glass of water, which you took gratefully.

"Thank you." You said once you could speak again. Laying back down to your original position, you asked, "Where am I?" Dick cleared his throat nervously.

"You're in a private hospital. (Y/N)... You've been in a coma for 5 weeks." Your eyes widened.

"What?!"

**~~~~~~**

**End Chapter One**


	2. Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your Suit:  
> https://d.wattpad.com/story_parts/545917969/images/151abcb0d36b314c612980687600.jpg

[*** YOUR SUIT ***](https://d.wattpad.com/story_parts/545917969/images/151abcb0d36b314c612980687600.jpg)

  
You hugged your knees, staring at the wall. "Five weeks?" You whispered. "What happened? All I remember is finding that room, and then... Nothing." You looked at Wally. It was a few hours after you had woken up. Bruce had dragged Dick away, something about the dynamic duo being needed.

Wally's eyebrows drew closer, and he clasped his hands together. "(Y/N)... While you were in that room, a fire started. I was on the other side of the building, and I didn't notice until it was too late... The wood that we saw earlier, it was all on fire, and-" He sighed. "You were trapped in the room. I couldn't get you out before the fire reached you. Dammit!" He pounded his fist against his leg. "I should have brought my suit with me, or at least something to contact the team earlier, I could have gotten you out of there before-!" You put a hand on his leg.

"Wally, it's okay, I'm fine!" You said, but he grabbed your hand.

"But it's not okay, I let my baby sister get hurt!" He looked at you and sighed. "(Y/N), while you were out these five weeks, I didn't know what to do with myself. The doctors said you were going to die. Your temperature was record high, and you had a constant fever, but nothing was wrong! They couldn't find the cause. It was terrifying! How could I explain to mom and dad that it was _my_  fault that my baby sister died of an unknown cause!" At this point, he was nearly shouting. He had tears streaming down his face. "They trusted me... They trusted me to take care of you while they were gone for a few months, and now..."

You smiled sadly and hugged him. "Brother... I'm okay now. I'm not going anywhere. Okay?" He nodded. He put his hand on your arm, before hissing and pulling away. "Wally?" You asked.

"(Y/N) you're burning up, you-" He gasped, "Look at your hands..." You did and nearly screamed with fright. Your hands were on fire. Literally. Flames were running across your fingertips, and the strangest part? You didn't feel a thing.

"Wh-what's going on?" You stuttered. Wally took a deep breath.

"I think we need to call someone who can help."

**~~**

Several minutes later, Batman and the Flash were standing in front of you.

"So, uh... Can you help me with this... Problem?" You waved your hands around. The fire had gone out and your temperature had cooled down, but you were still worried and confused. "It keeps happening on and off." You glanced around. Batman stared down at you. Finally, it was the Flash who broke the silence.

"So? Are you going to help my niece or not?" He said, and you smiled up at him. Batman sighed.

"I believe it is a mental thing. The only one able to help us with that is J'onn. However, this being a matter of fire, he has refused to help." You started to say something, but the dark knight cut you off. " _However_ , with my expert persuasion, he has agreed come. He should be here... Right about now." Martian Manhunter, or J'onn J'onnz, phased through the wall at that instant. You shrieked in surprise. He looked at you with mild disgust.

"Uh... Hi?" You wave at him with a slight smile.

"Let us get to it." He placed a hand on your head and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he pulled away. He looked at the league. "Yes, controlling it is mental matter. Chemicals that had mixed with her bloodstream reacted with the heat of the fire to create this. She is now a metahuman. I shall take my leave." He phased through the wall again.

"Well." You said. "That was..."

"Mean?" Wally suggested.

"I was going to say weird, but that works too." You replied.

"I must apologize for his behavior," Batman said, "He is not the best with fire." Flash snorted.

"Yeah,  _that's_  an understatement." He said. Batman glared at him.

"Anyways, since you are a metahuman, you will need to be able to control your powers. I suggest you be put on a team once you are able to at least conjure them up at will." Batman looked at Wally. Wally looked outraged.

"What?! You're putting my kid sister on my team?" Wally cried, and stood up. "No! No way! We almost get  _killed_  every day! I'm not putting her in that kind of danger!" Batman glared at him.

"Unless you want her to live in fear of herself every day, I would suggest you follow orders." He growled. Wally gulped. You placed a hand on his arm.

"Wally... It's okay." You said and looked at Batman. "I'll do it. But... I don't want them knowing who I am. Especially not Di-Robin. He worries too much." Batman narrowed his eyes.

"Please, Bruce..." You said. You looked at him pleadingly. He sighed and took off his cowl.

"(Y/N)..." He said, "You are an important part of Dick's life. He would be devastated if anything happened to you. Are you sure about this?" You nodded.

"Certain."

**~~**

A few months later, you had at least semi-control over your powers. You had made a suit (Top Image) and had trained in several forms of physical combat. You had even come up with a name. Based on the ancient Greek myth of Icarus and his wax wings, you had chosen Icarus.

Lying to Dick about what you were doing these past months was one of the hardest things you had done, but it had to be done. For his wellbeing. If he knew you were training to become a superhero, he would flip his shit. You loved your best friend, but he was too over-the-top sometimes.

"Ready to meet the team?" Wally asked, placing a hand on your shoulder. You took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"It's now or never, right?" You said. You were dressed in your suit, with the red mask covering your eyes. Wally nodded. You were standing in front of the zeta-beam transport point for Central City. Batman had already set it up for you. You gulped and walked forward.

"Recognized: Icarus B-27. Recognized: Kid Flash B-03."

A yellow light washed over the two of you, and you were transported to Mount Justice.

The light went away, and you opened your eyes to see the team standing in front of you in civies, along with Batman, Red Tornado, and Black Canary.

"Team, I'd like you to meet your newest member; Icarus." Batman stated, gesturing at you. You waved slightly.

The team walked up to you. Robin started talking first.

"Hi! I'm Robin." He said and held out his hand. You smiled and took it.

"I know." You said. "And the rest of you are...  Artemis, Aqualad or Kaldur'am or Kaldur, Miss Martian or M'gann M'orz, and Superboy." The team looked shocked and you laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, Wally's told me a lot about you."

Artemis was the first to laugh. "Well, it'll be nice to have another girl on the team, eh M'gann?" She said. M'gann nodded emphatically.

Wally looked offended. "Am I not good enough for you, princess?" He gasped. This only made Artemis laugh harder, and this time Kaldur and Robin joined in. You chuckled. A faint ding was heard, and M'gann gasped.

"That's right, I made brownies to celebrate a new member!" She flew to the kitchen, saying "Why don't you all sit down on the couch while I prepare these?" You shrugged.

"Why not?" You said. Robin patted you on the back.

"C'mon, I'll show you the way." He said and gestured for you to follow him. You did and ended up sitting on the couch between him and Wally. Kaldur cleared his throat.

"So, tell us about yourself, Icarus." He said. You swallowed.

"Well, um..." You started, "I'm 13, I love the ocean, I've basically memorized the script to Hamilton, and... I don't know, there's not much to me." You shrugged.

"Huh," Robin said, "We're the same age." You shrugged again.

"Do you have any powers?" Conner asked.

"Boy does she ever!" Wally exclaimed. You glared at him and hit his chest. You gave him your signature  _WTF, Wally?_  look, and he grinned sheepishly. You sighed.

"Yes, I have powers, except... I'm not entirely sure M'gann would like them..." You glanced at her as she walked over to the couch with the brownies. Wally, the pig that he is, started eating immediately.

"Why would I not?" M'gann asked.

"Well..." You held out your finger, and let a small flame shoot out of the tip. M'gann gasped.

"I see..." She said. "You're our teammate and you seem like a nice person, so I shall have to live with it." She smiled and you sighed in relief. Artemis cleared her throat this time.

"How do you know Wally?" She asked. Wally wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Jealous? I didn't know you had the heart." He said. You smacked his arm.

"He's a friend from school." You said, "We met when we were kids in elementary school in Central City, and once I'm going to high school this fall, the league's going to let me use the Zeta-Beams to get me from Central to Gotham, where I'll to Gotham Academy."

"Wait, wait, wait," Artemis said. "You're 13, and you're going to be in high school?" You grinned sheepishly.

"I really like your get up, but doesn't it seem a bit impractical?" M'gann said. You smirked and put your fingers on your chin.

"Haha! Now that is an interesting question. You see, these were originally my normal civie clothes, and I like them, but I didn't want them to burn, so I asked Wonder Woman to help make me a fireproof version, and  _voilá_. Oh, I can also fight pretty well in them. Plus, pockets." You put your hands in your overalls to make a point. Artemis' jaw dropped.

"You have  _pockets_?!" She whined, "I don't!" You smiled.

"And that, Arti, is why I have the suit that I do." You said. Artemis made a face.

"Please don't call me that." She said.

Suddenly, Batman walked into the room. "Suit up team, you've got a mission.  
  
  


**~~~~~**

**End Chapter Two**

_Quick A/N: I edited it y'all. Stuff got messed up. so. Yeah, enjoy!_

_~Maddy_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Maddy here, thanks so much to those who left kudos!


	3. Down Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place at the beginning of the episode Down Time, hence the name.

"A slime monster known as Clayface has attacked downtown Gotham." Batman said. "Your job is to follow it and determine it's location. Under no circumstances are you to engage. Understood?"

Everyone nodded, and Batman looked at you. "This will be your first mission, Icarus. Do me proud." He walked away. Robin looked at you. 

"Just who  _are_  you?" He asked. "Batman  _rarely_  talks to me like that, and I've been training with him for 4 years!"

You smirked. "Well, now you'll just have to find out." The truth was, you were surprised too. What warranted what Batman said to you?

"Alright, team. We'll take the bioship." Aqualad said. Everyone nodded and headed towards the hanger. Robin walked beside you.

"So, uh, Icarus. Why'd you choose that name?" He asked. You looked up at him, realizing, not for the first time, that he was a couple inches taller than you. You shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just really into Greek myths, and when my bro-" You coughed, "When Batman told me I needed a hero name, I was in the middle of a story about Daedalus, and it was the first thing I thought of. It's just, fire, melting wax, I don't know."

"Hm," Robin responded. "Kinda boring." You raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?" You said. "What about you? Why'd you choose Robin?" He sighed.

"It was my parent's nickname for me. My mom said I looked like a bird when we did our trapeze acts, and it stuck. Just... Sentimentality I guess." Robin said. You laughed.

"Dang, that just makes mine seem dumb." He smiled.

You both walked into the bioship, and you gasped. "Whoah," You said, "She's amazing."

M'gann smiled, "Yeah, she is. Oh! Let me make a chair for you." She raised her hand, and a chair rose up from the floor of the bioship, near the front. "You'll be next to Robin."

Robin high fived you. "Yeah, chair buddies!" You smirked. The way Robin acted in public was way different from the way Dick Grayson acted in public. It was a nice change. Wally gave Robin a sideways glare, and you flipped him off. He looked offended. You chuckled.

Aqualad cleared his throat. "From the intel that the league has on Clayface, he has shapeshifting abilities and super strength. So, just don't get hit."

You scoffed. "Gee, thanks, Aquaboy, never woulda thought of that." He looked at you, and Robin lightly punched your arm. "Sorry," You sighed, "That was rude." Aqualad nodded.

"Icarus, I think you might have a slight advantage, with your fire." He said, "This will also be a good opportunity for you to show us the range of your powers." You nodded.

 

**~~**

 

"We're here." M'gann said as the bioship lightly touched down on the top of a warehouse.

"Alright, team, this is where Clayface is said to be. Keep your eyes out, and don't be afraid to call for help." Aqualad said. Everyone nodded.

You walked through the warehouse with your hands in your pockets. Your eyes flicked around, looking for any movement, ears trained for the slightest sound. A loud clang rang out right behind you, and you whirled around, only to have the wind knocked out of you as you were flung against a wall. Clayface had found you. You coughed and stood up, raising your fists and letting flames cover them.

" **Oh, so the girl knows how to play with fire,** " Clayface said. His voice sounded graveling yet greasy at the same time, like a deep-voiced car salesman. " **But your little tricks won't work on me.** " He raised his arm, and it shot forward, the liquid streaming towards you. You countered with several shots of fire, and several parts of the liquid dried up, only to be quickly replaced with new material. You tapped your earpiece.

"Uh, guys? I know the B-man said not to engage, but what if he— Whoah!" You narrowly dodged another slime attack, "What if he engages first?"

"Hold him there." Aqualad said, "We are on your way with backup."

"Roger." You took your hand away and let fire ripple across your body. "Come at me, you glorified Smooze ripoff!" Clayface growled and turned his hand into a mace, swinging it as he walked forward menacingly. You gulped and narrowly avoided getting crushed. You shot a few blasts of fire but got pinned against the wall with a shot of goo. The flames didn't help, it only made moving harder.

The villain stalked towards you. A few of Robin's devices exploded in Clayface's face, causing him to stagger backward. Robin flipped out from the ceiling and started chipping away at the dried goo that encased your arm. You shot a few fire shots at Clayface, only slowing it temporarily. Wally sped through but got his fist stuck in trying to punch it. 

"What the—?" Wally got his other hand stuck trying to pull the first one out. Clayface shook his leg and sent Wally flying. He hit the wall and didn't get back up.

"Wally!" You shouted and struggled against the thing that was holding you. 

"Stop moving!" Robin said, almost hitting your arm with the piece of metal he was using. "And... There!" You broke free. While you were paying attention to your arm, the rest of your team had fought, and the majority was lying on the ground. Aqualad was the only one standing. You growled and created a lasso out of fire.

"Look out!" Robin said, and he pushed you out of the way as a shot from Clayface ricocheted from behind you. He got hit and was pinned to the floor. 

You locked eyes with Aqualad and nodded. You lassoed Clayface's neck, and Aqualad rushed him with his hammers. Clayface roared and caught both of you with his arms. They squeezed you tight and the pain made you lose your concentration, causing the fire to disappear. The slime crept up your neck, covering your mouth and nose. You struggled against it, each movement getting weaker as time went on.

You couldn't breathe. Black was creeping in from the edges of your vision and eventually overtook everything. Your eyes rolled back, and you passed out.

 

**~~**

 

When you came to, Wally was carrying you through the doors to the cave. You shifted in his arms, and he looked down. 

"Hey, kiddo. You alright?" He said and put you down. You rubbed your throat and nodded.

"Suffocation isn't fun." You said. Robin laughed from your side. 

"No kidding." He said and Wally nodded in agreement. You laughed and punched Robin lightly on the arm.

"Thanks for saving me, Rob." You said. Robin smirked. 

"No prob. Watching everything happen without being able to do anything was pretty boring." He said. You laughed again and apologized as you all walked through the cave to the main hall.

"I need to talk to Aqualad." Batman said, "Alone." Robin looked dejected, and you smiled at him sympathetically. 

"Let hit the showers." You said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh, and (Y/—)" Wally coughed, "Icarus? Remember we've got that friend coming over." Your eyes widened. 

"Oh, shit!" You said, looking at your watch. It was broken. "What time is it?" Robin looked at his watch and cursed.

"It's almost 9." He said, "I have to go too." You smirked.

 _I would hope you do_ , you thought. Dick was meeting you guys in Gotham at 9:30 for a show.

 

**_~~_ **

 

You walked out of your room and saw Wally tapping his foot impatiently. 

"C'mon, (Y/N)! We're going to be late!" He said, grabbing your arm.

"Wally, it's not that late! We'll zeta, and be there in 5 minutes! Plus, Dick'll meet us at the zeta point!" You said as he dragged you along. Wally rolled his eyes and slowed down. "Thank you!"

"Sorry." He muttered. 

"Wow, the great Walman apologizing? I thought I'd never see the day!" You snickered. He scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out at you, making you laugh harder. 

You got to the zeta tube and typed a few things in. In order to keep who you were a secret, you had a separate code for when you were using the zetas as a civilian. 

"Recognized: Kid Flash B-03, (Y/N) G11." A white light enveloped you both, and you walked out onto the streets of Gotham.

"(Y/N), Wally, over here!" You heard and saw Dick waving while walking over from a bench. You winced.

"Sorry, D, did we make you wait long?" You said and Dick shook his head. 

"Nah, I've only been here for a couple minutes. Plus, I still have gunk in my hair." He said. 

"Oh, that's right, you guys had a mission, how did that go?" You said, knowing full well how it went. But, the charade must be kept up. Dick shrugged. 

"I saved this new girl from getting shot. That was nice. But I couldn't do anything after that." He said. You fake gasped and hit Wally's arm. 

"You didn't tell me about a new girl!" You said. Wally shrugged. "Tell me about her." You said to Dick. 

"Well, uh... She's got fire powers, red hair, a mask, her suit's not really a normal superhero suit," He said, "I dunno. She's kinda cute, I guess." Your cheeks flushed.  _He thinks I'm cute?_

"Huh." You said, "Anyways, what show are we going to see?"

"Oh!" Wally chimed in, "What about that new one, Pacific Rim: Uprising?" You shrugged. 

"Sure, why not." You said. Dick nodded. Wally sped walked forward, leaving you and Dick behind. 

"C'mon," Dick said. He grabbed your arm as he walked faster. In the rush to catch up to Wally, you didn't notice how close he was until you got to the theater. His grip slid from your arm to your hand, and your cheeks burned. His gaze never met yours, but he squeezed your hand lightly. You responded with a light squeeze of your own, and he smiled.

**~~~~**

**End Chapter 3**

_Hey, sorry for the wait. Next chapter will be up by Saturday._

_Read this work on Archive Of Our Own at my account @TheMadDukeOfU_

_\- Maddy_


	4. Summer Time and Carnivals

About a week after the Clayface mission, you were laying on your bed, when a text from Dick came through. 

 **Bird boi:**  Hey, (Y/N)

 **Bird boi:** Wyd?

 **Coffee-holic:**  Not much

 **Coffee-holic:**  Being bored

 **Bird boi:** Oh

 **Bird boi:**  Do you uhhhhhhhh

 **Bird boi:** Do you want to do anything?

 **Coffee-holic:** Sure

 **Coffee-holic:** Like what?

 **Bird boi:** idk

 **Bird boi:** Metropolis has an end-of-summer carnival. You wanna go?

 **Coffee-holic:**  Uuhhhhh

 **Coffee-holic:**  lemme see

You put your phone down and ran downstairs to ask your parents.

**~~**

Meanwhile, in Wayne Manor, Dick Grayson sat spinning nervously in a desk chair, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, what am I doing?" He muttered to himself, "I've known her for years, she'll never—"

"Master Richard?" Dick stopped spinning and looked over at his butler, Alfred Pennyworth.

"Yeah?" Dick said. Against his best efforts, his hands started to fidget. Alfred noticed. 

"Are you alright?" He asked. Dick swallowed.

"Yeah? Yeah, I'm fine." Alfred raised an eyebrow. 

"Is it a girl?" He asked. Dick fell out of his chair. 

"What?" Dick tried to get back in his chair, "Why would you—" He swallowed, "Why would you think it's a girl?"

"Ah, so it is." Alfred said knowingly, "And do you have a date with her?" Dick sat up really fast before sighing and slouching again. 

"Yeah..." He glanced at his phone, "Or at least I hope so." A text popped up on his phone.

 **Coffee-holic:**  Yeah, I'm free all day! Meet me at the Metropolis zeta in 30?

Dick grinned and replied, spinning around in his chair. "She said yes!" He suddenly stopped spinning and his face went white. "I have no idea what to wear." Alfred smiled. 

"I think I can help with that." He said.

**~~**

30 minutes later, you sat in a park in Metropolis city, waiting for Dick. When he finally emerged from the alleyway, you stood up.

"Hey, D!" You called, waving, "Over here!" He jogged over to you.

"So!" He said, "The festival's near the beach, you ready to go?" You nodded, and he grinned and started walking. 

"So, Dick." You said, "A bit of self-endorsement, eh?" You were referring to the Robin symbol on his orange letterman jacket. His face turned red.

"Uh... I mean— I just—" He stuttered and you laughed. 

"I'm just joking. Plus, I think it's cute." As his face turned even redder, you realized what you had said. You face heated up to match his. "UM! I THINK I SEE THE FESTIVAL!" You said, distracting him. You ran over to the front gates and gazed in awe. 

The festival was held in a large park near the beach, with trees everywhere. Some were aspen trees, with their brilliant array of fall colors, others were big maple trees with their leaves turned red. Vendors were nearest to the gates, selling things like caramel cover apples, maple leaf-shaped cookies, and cotton candy. Farther back, you saw people playing games like horseshoe toss, bobbing for apples, and apple smooshing. Even farther back, you saw some carnival rides, the biggest of all being a Ferris wheel that towered above everything else.

Your jaw dropped and a smile lit up your face. "This is amazing, Dick!" You laughed and spun around in the leaves littering the ground. Dick smiled softly.

"Yeah. I used to come here with Bruce all the time, but this year..." He shrugged. "I guess I wanted to go with you." 

"Aw, Dick, that's so sweet! Now! Let's go buy an apple." You grabbed his arm and dragged him along to the stall. 

You walked around for hours, Dick following you patiently. He wasn't impatient at all, in fact-- this was the reason he asked you to come. So he could be with you. 

He had felt a need to be beside you since the accident in the warehouse. When he found out what had happened, he was distraught.

_/~~/_

_"Dick, please! Come quick, and bring some sort of hero! I don't care which one, but (Y/N) is trapped in here and there's a fire and I can't get her out, and_ — _"  Wally's scared voice came through Dick's phone. Dick cut him off._

_"Whoah, slow down Wally, what's going on?" Dick said, "What's up with (Y/N)?"_

_"SHE'S TRAPPED IN A BURNING BUILDING, DICK!!"  Wally screeched. Dick almost dropped his phone._

_"I'll be right there." He growled._

_/~~/_

_"Dick, I_ — _" Wally started, but Dick cut him off again._

_"You what, Wally?! You were supposed to protect her!" Dick shouted, "And now she's in the hospital and we don't know whether or not she's going to wake up!"_

_"Dick," Wally whispered with his head down. "I know. I'm sorry. Don't you think I've beaten myself up about this countless times already?" Wally looked up with tears streaming down his face. "My baby sister is in a coma and it's all my fault."_

_/~~/_ _  
_

Dick grimaced and suddenly grabbed your hand. You looked up at him. You were standing in front of the carnival section of the fair, with the Ferris wheel looming on your right.

"Uh..." Dick said, "Sorry. Spaced out. Thought I lost you." You smiled.

"It's okay." You looked at all the stalls. "Hey, look at that stall! They've got a giant blue sheep!" You tightened your grip on his hand and walked towards it. Once you got in front of it, your face fell.

"Aw, man..." You said, "It's a ring toss game. I suck at those." You gazed at the sheep longingly.

"It's okay," Dick squeezed your hand and let go, walking up to the stall, "Let me handle this." You blushed lightly, and a tingly feeling spread throughout your chest. You had liked Dick since you were little, only barely hiding it with sarcastic remarks and bad jokes. He was kind, strong, smart... and not to mention, very cute. 

A few expert tosses later, and Dick walked up to you carrying the sheep. You squealed and hugged Dick tightly, causing red to creep up from his neck.

"Oh my gosh, Dick, that was incredible!" You said, nuzzling your face into his neck. "Thank you so much!" His breath hitched, and your eyes widened. You hurriedly stepped away and shoved your face into the stuffed animal, effectively hiding your face.

"N-No problem!" Dick stuttered. You both stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before he spoke. "Um... I know you're tired, but will you do one more thing with me? The sun is setting, so what do you say we take a Ferris wheel ride? It'll be really pretty." You smiled and nodded.

"Sure," You said. He smiled back and rubbed the back of his neck. You noticed it was a nervous tick with him.

You both got into the Ferris wheel car, and it started moving. The blue sheep was on the opposite side of the car, and Dick sat next to you. You sat in silence, taking in the views. When you were a quarter of the way up, Dick started talking.

"Do you remember?" He started, "When we were nine, and you pushed me off of the bridge? I got soaking wet, and you laughed at me, before falling off yourself. We laughed for hours about it... Of course, we both got sick, and you blamed me for the whole thing." You groaned.

"D, I said I was sorry, I—" You said, but Dick cut you off, laughing.

"I'm not looking for an apologie. I just wanted to point something out." He took your hand again, "I think that's the day I fell in love with you. As we got older, it just got worse and worse. Then, being Robin was my top priority. I felt I needed to distance myself from you because you would get in the way." He chuckled, "But you were too stubborn to be pushed aside. You stuck with me." He sighed. "What I guess I'm trying to say, is that I like you. A lot. And it's gotten to the point where it's built up inside of me to the point where I just need to let it out. And—" You silenced him by placing your hand on top of his.

"I like you too. A lot." You smiled softly, "I've liked you for the longest time, hell! That's  _why_  I pushed you off the bridge when we were nine. I liked you too much and I didn't know what to do with myself. And you know what? I don't like you just because you're Robin, I like you because you're  _you_. And that's the whole of it. So thank you, for giving me the courage to confess through your confession. I love you, Richard Grayson." You said the last part quietly, tilting your head down. 

It was quiet for a couple of seconds, before Dick raised your chin with his hand, and kissed you. You were shocked, but the shock soon turned into bliss, and you melted into the kiss. His hands were on your cheeks, and yours were in his hair. 

He pulled away and rested his forehead against yours. He chuckled.

"God, Wally was right. I should have done this a lot sooner." He said, and you laughed.

"That was my first kiss..." You muttered, and Dick gasped.

"Oh, shit, it was? Sorry, I should have asked, or made it better..." He trailed off. You laughed again. 

"Dick, it's fine. I enjoyed it." You said.

The wheel stopped at the top, and you gasped as you took in the view.

"Wow..." You breathed, "Thank you, Dick." You took a quick selfie with him, to remember the moment. "The view is incredible, and the sunset is amazing."

"Yeah, it is beautiful. Not as beautiful as you, though." Dick said, making you cringe. "Sorry. Too cheesy?" He smiled nervously, bringing his hand up to his neck. You smiled.

"Just a bit. But, I kinda liked it." Your cheeks heated up, as did his.

He cupped your face in his hands. "(Y/N) West, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

"Of course, Richard Grayson."

**~~~~~**

**END CHAPTER FOUR**

_Hey all. I'm horrible at keeping promises, I know. So here's a really fluffy (and kinda short) chapter to keep you satiated. Sorry again. I already know what I'm going to write for the next chapter, so it should be up by Saturday. Should. School just started again after Spring break, and so I'm trying my best to keep the content good and not rushed._

_~ Maddy_


	5. Bereft

_Alright, so this chapter takes place in episode 9 of Young Justice, so just roll with me. If you've seen the episode, you'll know what's going on._

_~ Maddy_

**~~**

You woke up groggily on the side of a sand dune, your entire body feeling sore.

"What happened to me?" You muttered to yourself. You brought your hand up to your head, drawing it away to find blood. "What the--?"

Suddenly, your hand lit up in flames. You shrieked, and waved it frantically, trying to put them out. A couple minutes later, they went away. You looked at your hands, scared.  _What's going on?_

You stood up shakily and saw a dust cloud in the distance. "Maybe I should go over and check what that is... Maybe they'll be able to tell me where I am and why I'm here..." You started walking. A couple times on the way, different parts of your body became encased in fire. It got to the point where, when it happened, you weren't surprised anymore. Eventually, you came to a rock outcropping. As you were walking past, a hand shot out and dragged you into the shade. You looked at your supposed captor, seeing Dick in his Robin suit.

"Di-" You started, but cut yourself off, "Robin!" He looked at you with a very confused expression.

"Who are you?" He asked. You furrowed your eyebrows, why did he not recognize you?

"Robin, it's me, it's-" You were about to tell him who you were when a memory flashed through your mind.

_/~~/_

_"Remember, Icarus," Batman said, "Never reveal who you are. Especially not to Robin."_

_/~~/_

"I'm Icarus." You corrected sticking your hand out. "We've never met. But I think I'm on your side."

"Okay, Icarus." Robin glanced to his right, pulling you up the side of the outcropping.

"What are you-?" He shushed you and you pursed your lips. Why would Batman tell you to not tell anyone who you were? It's not like you were a superhero. Right? A truck drove past, full of people.

"Those are Bialyan Republican Army uniforms," Robin muttered to himself. You looked at him funny.

"What are Bialyans doing in-" You started, but he cut you off again.

"Bialya?" He exclaimed, "Okay, better question. What are  _we_  doing in Bialya?" He paused, "In September?"

"What happened to March?" You said. Robin frowned.

"Better radio Batman." He raised his hand to his ear, before stopping. "Or not. Batman called for radio silence... But why?" He jumped down from the outcropping and looked up at you expectantly.

"What? You expect me to jump that far? No! Do you have any idea how badly that could go?" You said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Then climb. Jesus, you're almost as bad as my friend." He said. You stuck your tongue out and started to climb down. When you were about two meters above the ground, your foot slipped. You fell backward, expecting to hit the ground, but the impact never came. Instead, you felt a soft embrace as Robin lightly placed you on your feet.

"Sorry, I guess these boots aren't really meant for climbing." You laughed, and Robin shrugged. His eyes fell onto a black piece of cloth on the ground, and he walked over to it. His eyes narrowed as he picked it up, and you walked over.

"What is it?" You asked.

"It's got the Superman insignia on it." He said.

"Huh. That's weird. Doesn't Superman usually hang out in Metropolis?" You asked, "Why would something with Superman's insignia on it be all the way out in Bialya?"

"I don't know..." Robin said and pulled out his wrist computer. "I have GPS marker here." He pointed to his map. "Our best shot is to find out what's over there." You nodded. Suddenly Robin shouted in surprise.

"Icarus! You're on fire!" He said, backing away. You looked up. A warm glow wreathed around your head.

"Oh god, not again!" You said and frantically patted your head. A few seconds later, they were out. You gulped nervously. "I wish I knew what the hell is wrong with me!" You said and hugged your arms. Robin patted your shoulder.

"Once we get to this GPS point, I'm sure we'll find out." He said. You nodded. "Now let's go."

**~~**

You and he walked for hours, and occasionally Robin would pull you to the side. A couple trucks and sometimes a tank or two would pass by, and then Robin would let you go. The fire thing happened a lot too. Eventually, you had a mini panic attack because of them, which Robin calmed you through. Twilight fell, and a chill ran up your spine. It got cold in the desert at night. You wrapped your cape around you and trudged on.

Night came on, and soon Robin pulled you down.

"I wish I knew why I put a GPS mark here." He said and looked over the ridge. "Oh." A rectangular box was standing out in the open.

"I'm guessing that's why." You said after looking as well. Robin hopped next to the box, and you started to walk over, but several men rose up from the ground. Robin dropped a smoke bomb and started attacking. One of the men yelled something in another language, and you felt hands grab your arms, and a cloth go over your nose. You tried to call out to Robin, but with every breath you took, the harder it got to keep your eyes open. Soon, darkness came over your vision and you fell to the ground.

**~~**

A man yelled something else in the same language, but Robin didn't pay attention. He knocked the man down, wrapped two others in a wire, kicked another in the face, and made two others drop their guns. As they were getting back up, Kid Flash ran through and grabbed all of their guns.

"K.F.!" Robin said after all the men were down, "Man, it's good to see a familiar face."

"Hey, Rob." Kid Flash responded, "Memory loss?"

"Six months! Let's hog-tie these creeps and compare notes." After that was done, the group stood in a clump.

"So, we're a team?" Robin asked.

"The four of us, and Superboy." Miss Martain said.

"There was this other girl... Icarus, she said her name was. Oh, crap! She got taken!" Robin shook his head. "Anyway, this must be Superboy's." He handed Miss Martian the torn fabric.

"Yes!" She said, "Did you see him?"

"I think we did," Artemis said.

"Feral boy?" Kid Flash said, "Some teammate. He attacked us!"

"He didn't know who we are," Artemis said, " _I_  don't know who we are!"

"I remember Batman ordering radio silence," Robin said, "Our team must work for him!"

"How do you know we don't work for  _my_  mentor?" Kid Flash said, jabbing his own chest with a finger. His suit changed colors, and he looked excited. "Whoah." Jab. "This is so cool!" Jab. Everyone tried it, but nothing happened.

"We look ridiculous!" Artemis said. Wally jabbed his suit again. "Quit touching yourself!" Artemis sighed. "We need our memories back."

Suddenly, everyone was plunged into a  _very_  strange place, full of images, and a purple hue. Everyone looked around. Artemis shrugged at Kid Flash's questioning glance.

"I've brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far." Miss Martian appeared in front of everyone. "But I need your help. Together our broken memories can form a whole, if you open your minds to mine."

"You want to pop through our private thoughts?" Artemis said.

_(It's getting difficult to write their names over and over again, so I'm going to start just using the acronyms. ~Maddy)_

"I have no wish to intrude," M.M. put her hands up, "but-"

"You need to hack our minds to grab what happened to us, got it. Go!" Robin cut her off.

"My brain's all yours! Try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you." K.F. said.

"Or  _under_ whelm you." Robin teased. "Hey, why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

Artemis looked nervous until KF lightly grasped her hand. She sighed.

"Last six months only." She said. "And only what you need!" MM nodded. Glowing hands reached out to all of them, and they closed their eyes.

_/~~/_

_"The watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialyan desert." Batman said, "Spectral analysis revealed elements nonterrestrial in origin. Find out what happened at that site, what landed there. Bialya is a rogue state, ruled by Queen Bee, and not a member of the league's UN charter. All communications are subject to interception. Maintain radio silence at all time. You'll land in Qurac, on Bialya's border, two clicks from the hot zone."_

_/~~/_

_"All clear," Robin said. Superboy carried a box out of the bioship._

_/~~/_

_"The Bialyans control the site," Artemis said, as she and Robin looked over a cliff._

_"Set up here," Aqualad said, and Superboy set down the box. He clicked a few buttons, and the box opened up, revealing a weapons cache._

_"We'll be up and running in no time," Robin said, typing on a keyboard connected to the box._

_"You know, these Bialyans don't look very bee-ish to me," Icarus said._

_"What did you expect, for them to be in bee costumes?" Wally retorted. Icarus shrugged._

_"I dunno. I guess. Their ruler is Queen_ **_Bee_ ** _, after all." She said._

_"Detecting nonterrestrial trace elements from the tent," Robin said._

_"I'll check it out in camouflage mode," M'gann said._

_"Good idea," Aqualad said, "Go."_

_"Careful," Superboy said._

_"And maintain telepathic contact," Kaldur said._

_"I will, Aqualad," M'gann replied._

_/~~/_

Everyone broke out of the mind link and gasped. "Aqualad!" They said, then "Icarus!"

"Where are they?" Robin said, "What happened next?"

"I don't know!" M'gann said, "That's the last thing I-  _we_  remember."

Meanwhile, Wally had let go of Artemis's hand and was having a mini breakdown.

"Oh, jeez, Icarus! She must be so freaked out. Six months ago she didn't have these powers! And now she's all alone, and  _you!_ " Wally rounded on Robin, "You let her be captured! Now she's in the hands of the Bialyans and they're doing who knows what to her!"

"Wally, calm down, we'll find her when we find Superboy," M'gann said. He sighed.

"You're right. But we've been here over 24 hours. If Kaldur's been wandering the desert for that long... That's not good for a guy with gills."

"Now that I know to look for him..." Robin pulled up his computer. "He's close! But he's not moving."

**~~**

After a few minutes of searching, the small fragment of the team found Kaldur, mumbling in Atlantian.

"I-I can't restore his memories in this condition," M'gann said.

"He needs immediate rehydration," Robin said.

"And we need to find Icarus and Superboy," M'gann said. "Six months ago he didn't exist. He has no memories, just animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him."

"Superboy's indestructible." Wally said, "Just ask those tanks. It's Aqualad who needs your help. Like now!" M'gann put her hands up to her head.

"No! Superboy's in pain!" She said and flew away.

"M'gann, wait!" Artemis called.

"We still don't know what erased our memories!" Robin yelled, "It could happen again!"

"Aaaaaand, she's gone." Wally said, "Great."

"C'mon, you guys, we have to get Aqualad to the bioship!" Robin said. Artemis nodded. Wally sighed.

"But Icarus is out there..." Wally said, "Alone... And if Superboy's in pain, then she probably is too..." He slammed his fist against his thigh. "Damn it!" _What kind of older brother am I?_  He thought.

**~~**

Meanwhile, M'gann flew through the tent. What she saw amazed her, and not in a good way.

Superboy was shackled to a slab, which electrocuted him every time a weird sphere thing started turning.

She saw you were chained by your wrists to a pole and were dangling from the ceiling. A man was whipping you.

"Tell me where the rest of them are!" He growled, and you sobbed.

"P-please, sir, I don't know what you're talking about, I— AH!" You cried out as he slashed the whip across your arms.

You glanced to the side and noticed the weird dude with the glass forehead, who the scientists called Psimon, was staring at something intensely. A whip cracked right in front of you.

"Pay attention to me!" The man yelled, "Tell me where they are!" Tears fell down your cheeks. Once you had gotten captured, they had taken you to this tent, where a weird, feral seeming boy was being held captive. He would yell when they electrocuted him. The men kept asking questions of you, switching people every few minutes. None of the questions you knew how to answer. There were bruises and cuts littering your body from the different kinds of ways they tried to get information out of you. It seemed that was your only purpose.

The man snarled and left, and you hung there silently. Your wrists were starting to ache from being held up so long, but that pain was dull compared to the long cut going across your stomach.

After a few minutes of you being distracted by the pain, you realized random objects were starting to float around you. The captured boy growled, and the beeping of his heart rate increased. The sphere started up, rolling faster and faster, seemingly in tune with the boy's emotions. The scientists freaked out as the sphere rolled so fast it broke out of its makeshift cage, crashing into the control panel for the boy's shackles. He jumped out and tried to punch Psimon, but was blocked by a black and red forcefield. He raised his hand and suddenly stopped moving.

You were confused and terrified.  _What's going on? Why am I here? Why is this happening to me? I'm not a hero, I-_  Your inner monologue was cut off by the sound of guns clicking. The sphere beeped a few times before crashing into the soldiers.

"Uh, thanks?" The boy said. More soldiers came pouring in, and a green girl appeared right where Psimon was looking. Both of them started to float, and the boy attacked the soldiers.

The force causing things to float was getting stronger, lifting you up in the air instead of hanging. A whirlwind started up between the psychics, and scientists started yelling. Things started flying away, and the top of the tent came off, leaving only the structure standing. A scream came from the middle of the whirlwind, and Psimon came flying out. The whirlwind exploded, causing everything, including you, to go flying. You got the wind knocked out of you and curled up into a ball.

The boy was cradling the green girl in his arms, but as they leaned in for a kiss, the sphere came up and started beeping.

"Can I keep it?" The boy said. The girl rolled her eyes. 

"First we have to help Icarus." She said, standing up. The boy stood up with her.

"P-please don't hurt me!" You sobbed as they walked over.

"It's okay. We're here to help." The girl said, and she touched your forehead. A burst of images flowed through your head, and your eyes rolled back.

"Nice job, M'gann, you made Icarus pass out," Superboy said. M'gann looked at him.

"It wasn't on purpose!" She said. Superboy shrugged and broke the chains. Superboy picked you up and looked at M'gann. 

"Ready?" He said. M'gann nodded. They made their way back to the bioship, the sphere in tow.

 _"Hey everybody!"_ M'gann's voice rang through everyone's head.  _"I've got Icarus and Superboy. He's back to normal and we're on our way."_

Aqualad gasped and sat up quickly, looking confused. "Who are you?" Artemis gently pushed him back down. "And how did you get inside my head?"

" _Hello, Megan! Aqualad's memories!_ " M'gann hit her head, " _I knew I forgot something._ " 

" _Aw man, me too._ " Wally thought, " _I didn't get a souvenir from the mission!_ " 

" _Don't worry._ " M'gann thought, " _Got the souvenir thing covered._ "

M'gann flew through the doors to the bioship, with Superboy carrying you right behind her.

"You found her!" Wally said and picked you up, cradling you gently in his arms. He looked at you and saw the bleeding cuts and multiple bruises.  _Oh, (Y/N), what happened to you?_

He placed you on a bed in the back, next to where Aqualad was.

"Is she okay?" Robin asked. Wally shook his head.

"She's pretty beat up. It makes you wonder what they did to her..." He said.

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 5**

_Oof this was a long one. Also sorry it's prolly pretty shitty I wrote most of it at like 3am instead of doing homework. Sorry 'bout it being a bit late. I said I'd try. Thanks to those who voted/left kudos._

_~Maddy_


	6. Bereft; The Aftermath

You woke up in a white, sterile room and groaned. You were in the med bay at the cave.

"Not again." You muttered and sat up. You blinked, eyes heavy from being out so long. Looking around, you noticed no one else was in the room. IVs were coming out of your arm, and your cape was laying on the end of the bed. Your arms were battered and scarred, with dark purple and yellow bruises around your wrists.  _What the?!_

You grabbed the IVs, braced yourself, and yanked them out of your arm. Rubbing where they were, you searched through the cabinets in the room until you found what you were looking for. You rubbed some isopropyl alcohol on your inner arm before putting a large band-aid on it. You turned off the machines and walked out of the room. After being in the hospital for so long after your accident, you had become adept at recovering.

You walked out of the room and into the common room. No one was there, so you assumed they were in the training room. You shrugged and made yourself a cup of coffee. While you were in the middle of brewing, a blur ran past you into the med bay. A shriek was heard, and the blur ran past again to the door to the training room. It was Wally.

"Guys!" He yelled, "Icarus isn't in the med bay!" You chuckled quietly to yourself before hopping on the counter and sipping the coffee.

A resounding "What?!" was heard from the training room, and everyone rushed out. Surprisingly, no one noticed you. You took another sip of coffee.

The first person to find you was Robin. You waved at him as he smacked his forehead and laughed.

"I'm assuming the mission was a success?" You asked, and he nodded.

"What do you remember?" He asked, hopping up to sit on the counter next to you.

"Um..." You tapped your chin, handing the coffee to his waiting hands. "The start of the mission, M'gann saying someone hacked our mind link, which, by the way, I didn't know was possible, waking up in the desert, meeting you, getting captured, being tortured, M'gann had some sort of a psychic battle? Then nothing." You looked at him. "You know, you should probably tell the others you've found me."

"Oh, right." Robin tapped a couple buttons on his watch before speaking into it. His voice echoed around the cave. "Hey, uhhhh, I found her. Come to the kitchen."

Almost immediately, Wally sped into the room. You waved as he huffed angrily.

"You little brat!" He said, "Don't do that!" You laughed.

"Sorry, Walman." You glanced at your wrists. "So... My watch is gone? And I've gotta talk to the B-man." Robin winced.

"Good luck. He's not in the best mood." You looked over at him.

"Why?"

"Something about..." He glanced around. "Uh, never mind." By this time, the rest of the team had walked into the room.

"Icarus!" M'gann said, walking towards you. "How're you feeling?"

"I mean, I've been better?" You said, "I'm also pretty high off of painkillers right now, so ask me again tomorrow." She laughed quietly, but Wally frowned.

"That's nice." He said, "Look, Icarus, we've really got to get going. You can use my headset to contact Batman." You shrugged.

"Alright." You hopped off the counter. "See you guys next mission." They nodded. You walked out of the room and to the zeta tubes.

**~~**

"Oh my god, (Y/N)!" Your mother said as she saw you walk in the house.

"Hi mom," You waved, wobbling a bit on your feet. You tried to walk forward but ended up tripping over your own feet. As you were falling, Wally sped forward and caught you. "Thanks, bro," You giggled, "You know, I'm super tired, I think I'm just gonna..." You closed your eyes and fell asleep in Wally's arms. 

"What happened?" Your dad asked, looking extremely concerned.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Fighting bad guys, letting my little sister get kidnapped. Fun times." Wally joked as he walked towards the stairs. "Hey, mom? Would you help her? She needs to go to bed, and it would be super creepy if I did it." Your mom nodded and followed him upstairs. 

**~~**

As you walked into school the next day, you self consciously pulled your sleeves down. The turtleneck jumper you were wearing effectively covered up all of your injuries from the weekend before. 

"Hey, (Y/N)!" Dick called and waved you over. You smiled at seeing him.

"Hey, D." You said, "Hey Barb." The redhead grinned.

"Are you ready for that Biology quiz today?" She asked. Both you and Dick groaned.

"Oh, god, I had completely forgotten!" Dick said, and Barbara laughed. 

"I'm sure both of you'll do fine." She said, "Isn't Bio one of your best subjects, (Y/N)?"

"Yeah, but still... I didn't have time to study at all over the weekend!" You said. The bell rang as Dick was about to open his mouth. "Well, see you in Precalc!" You walked away as Dick waved. 

A few minutes later, a text popped up.

 **Bird-Boi:**  Hey, are you still sure about keeping us a secret?

 **Bird-Boi:**  I just feel kinda weird acting like we're still just friends at school.

You snorted. he was right, of course, but you didn't want to deal with any unnecessary drama this early in the year.

 **Coffeeholic:**  Yeah, I'm sure

 **Coffeeholic:**  And I get where you're coming from

 **Coffeeholic:** Maybe later? Idk, I'm just not ready for the world to know that 'hey, Dick Grayson, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne has a girlfriend", ya feel me?

 **Bird-Boi:**  I understand :D

 **Coffeeholic:** Now stop texting me and get to class :*

On the other side of the school, Dick laughed.  _God, I love that girl._

**End Chapter 6**

**~~~~~**

_God someone end me I'm horrible at keeping my promises aaaaaahhhhhhh_

_No, but seriously guys, thanks for all of the support, and I'm super sorry that there wasn't an update last Saturday, and this one is under 1000 words (a.k.a. super-frickn-short). I've been utterly swamped with school, and AP testing is two weeks away, and with 3 AP tests as a sophomore is not fun. So, sorry again. Next week is going to be the Homefront episode, with some spicey angst/fluff, so look forward to that._

_~Maddy_


	7. Homefront

It was the weekend after the whole Bialya incident, and the B-man decided to let Robin have a few days off. So, naturally, he went on a date. It was a simple thing, just hanging out in the park, but it was special. Dick wouldn't let go of your hand. Eventually, you got concerned.

"D, what's wrong?" You asked. The two of you were sitting on a park bench. He looked away.

"N-nothing. It's nothing." He used his free hand to wipe his eyes. 

"Richard. What's wrong?" He gulped and looked at you. A few tears leaked from his eyes.

"You remember how I told you we went to Bialya?" He asked. You nodded. "Well, that wasn't the full story. We got our memories wiped. I  _forgot_  about you, (Y/N). When I remembered, it was one of the most awful feelings I've ever had. A-and I couldn't do anything about it. I just-" You smiled and cut him off by kissing his cheek.

"It's okay, D. I'm here." You said. He let go of your hand and grabbed your face to kiss you softly. He rested his head against yours. 

"Hey (Y/N)... Do you remember the song you made me learn when we were younger? The one you said was 'our song'?" He said, and you laughed.

"Of course I do, Dick." You cleared your throat.

_([Here you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDBApS9C3s)_ _)_

"Wise men say, only fools rush in, but I can't help, falling in you... Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help, falling in love with you."

"Take my hand. Take my whole life too. For I can't help, falling in love with you... " His voice was slightly husky from crying. You smiled and wiped a tear off of his cheek.

You sang together, "Wise men say, Only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you."

"Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help, falling in love with you." On every part, he echoed you.

"And I can't help, falling in love with you." Together, again.

At the end, he kissed you softly.

"Thanks." He said.

"I wasn't lying, it  _is_  our song." You said.

**~~**

September 22nd. The first day of school at Gotham Academy. Wally had already started school a few weeks ago, and he wouldn't stop complaining.

"(Y/N). (Y/N)!" You groaned and pulled your covers over your head. "C'mon, kiddo, we're going to be late!" You sat up and look over. Wall stood by your bed, arms crossed.

"First day of school? Remember?" He said and waved his hand. Your eyes widened and you cursed, jumping out of bed. Wally laughed. "Mom's got breakfast on the table." You nodded in acknowledgment.

You threw on the school uniform of Gotham Academy, touched up your hair, and ran downstairs.

"Morning sweety!" Your mom called, putting your plate on the table.

"Morning mom, morning dad." You said and scooted your chair into the table.

"Morning, munchkin." Your dad said as you shoveled food into your mouth, "Ready for your first day of high school? It's still kind of insane that Bruce Wayne himself is paying for your tuition at Gotham Academy.  _And_  that Barry's letting you use Justice League tech to get there." You nodded.

"The only downside," You said with your mouth full, "Is waking up so early because of the time difference."

Wally stuck his tongue out.

"That's what you get." He said. You rolled your eyes. You ran your dish to the sink, grabbed your backpack, and ran to the garage.

"Bye!" You called and pedaled away. "C'mon, Wally!"

"I'm literally right next to you!" As per your parent's agreement, your brother had to go with you to the zeta-beam transport point every morning.  You rolled your eyes.

**~~**

You walked into the school grounds with Dick and Barbara. Dick had met you by the Zeta transport with Alfred, who drove you to school, where your met Barbara. 

"So, what classes do you have?"

You shrugged. "I don't know yet. I still need to get my schedule from the from office. Hey, D, wanna come with?" Dick shrugged. 

"Okay."

"I'll wait here for you guys!" Barb said. You nodded. On the way there, you passed through a courtyard, where Artemis was talking to Bette. 

"Here, come with me," Dick said and rushed off. You followed him.

"We'll laugh about this someday," Dick said, snapped the picture with you, him, and Artemis, before the two of you ran off. 

"Who were they?" You heard Artemis ask. Bette rolled her eyes.

"Just a couple of freshmen. Ignore them." Dick chuckled quietly.

"So, what was that about?" You asked. He looked at you.

"Just being friendly to the new girl." He said. You chuckled. You knew exactly what it meant. Artemis Crock, was, of course, Artemis from the team. And once Dick found out who you were, the picture would be all the funnier.

You got your schedule, and you and Dick looked at it. 

"Hey, we've got precalc together on Wednesday and Friday! And English on Tuesday and Wednesday.  _And_  the same advisory? Wholey cow!" Dick said, and you laughed. "This is so asterous!" He said, jumping up and down. 

"Asterous? Really?" You said and laughed. 

"What? If like is the opposite of dislike, then aster-"

"Is the opposite of disaster. I understand, D. You've explained it to me at least 10 times." You rolled your eyes. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. You looked at the schedule again. "I don't know how long it's gonna take me to get used to a block schedule. At Keystone Middle School, we had a period system." Dick nodded.

"I'll help you. Besides, what are boyfriends for?" He said. You rolled your eyes.

**~~**

After school, you had to report to the cave. You decided to stick with Dick after school to work on homework, so you stayed in Gotham. Later, Dick had to leave. You knew why. 

You waited at the top of a building near the Gotham Zeta, watching Artemis walk into the alley. Robin jumped off of building infront of you, not even glancing at you.

"Artemis?" He said, with fake surprise in his voice. Said girl gasped. 

"Robin! I uh-"

"How random that you're in Gotham City!" Robin cut her off. "Instead of Star City, where your uncle  _Green Arrow_   _lives_?"

"I'm uh, here to... See my cousin! She was in the state spelling bee! Here. In Gotham City."

"C-o-o-l. Did she w-i-n?" 

"N. O."

"D-r-a-g."

You rolled your eyes at his antics and decided to drop in. 

"W-o-w, guys I didn't know there was a p-a-r-t-y!" You said once you landed. Artemis glared at you and stumbled a few steps back. 

"Yeah, let's just go to the cave," Artemis said, and you laughed.

"Ladies first." Robin gestured to the booth. Artemis looked at you.

"Age before beauty." You smirked as she rolled her eyes.

"Your town, you go," Artemis said to Robin. He shrugged.

" _Recognized: Robin B-01. Recognized: Artemis B-07. Recognized: Icarus B-27._ "

You walked into the cave without a care, before Robin knocked both you and Artemis over, yelling; "Get down!" A fireball flew over your head. The air was hazy and thick with smoke. Robin threw a few of his birdarangs into the smoke, but another fireball launched at you. 

You breathed in sharply and started to hyperventilate. " _Oh god, no, not this again, I don't want to be trapped with all the fire again!_ " You muttered, and Artemis looked at you strangely.

She got up and shot some arrows into the smoke. More fireballs shot out. Two figures appeared out of the smoke.

"Who are we fighting?" Artemis shouted, shooting arrows at them.

"Don't know." Robin responded, "But we're sitting ducks by these tubes. Head for the exit!" He saw you still sitting on the floor, eyes wide. He picked you up bridal style and ran towards a hallway. You buried your face in his neck as another thing of fire shot at you. "Or not." A tidal wave swept towards you, effectively making Robin drop you. The cold water broke your shock, and once the water went away, you were able to run. You shot a few shots of fire, and Artemis grabbed her bow and joined you.

As you ran, a fire tornado sprang up behind you. You gulped and followed Robin and Artemis into the exercise room.

"Robin to team. Come in! Aqualad!" Robin shouted into his earpiece.

Artemis put her hand up to her ear, although she didn't say anything. Suddenly, a fiery explosion shot you all forward. The tornado advanced. The three of you ran into the showers.

"Robin to Batcave. Override RG4. Cave calling Justice League, HOJ-slash-Watchtower B-01 Priority Red." Robin called out a couple commands as you and Artemis turned all of the showerheads on. Artemis notched some arrows. 

"Com is down. Blocked." Robin said, "At least the waters helping." The room began to shake. The knobs and showerheads fell off and water began pouring out faster than usual.

"Or not." You interjected as the water lifted you off your feet.

Robin placed a birdarang on the wall, and it exploded, allowing the three of you to escape. You coughed some water out of your lungs. Robin started running towards the kitchen, and you joined him. 

"We need to get lost." He said.

"The air vent!" You said and pointed to the vent above the stove.

"Good. Go!" Robin turned towards the pad on the wall, and plugged his wrist computer in. Artemis jumped over the island to the stove, and took the cover off.

"What are you-" She began, but he cut her off.

"Downloading Cave blueprints. Could come in..." He stopped talking as metalic footsteps rang through the hallway. "Go. Go!" He whispered, and you jumped into the air vents after him. Both him and Artemis were in front of you.

"Go left," Robin said and just as he turned the corner, fire shot out. It covered your body, but because of your powers, it only felt like a hot wind.

"Icarus!" Robin shouted, but you stuck your hand out of the flames. 

"Keep going! I'm fine!" You said, and he crawled forwards. "My powers make me immune. Are you OK?" You asked him. He nodded.

"Take the first right." He called to Artemis. "There should be a vent cover right in front of you." There was, and she slid down the vent. The three of you jumped out, right into the boiler room.

"This way!" Robin said and ran down the stairs to the right. Flames exploded out of the vent, and a figure dropped down. They were engulfed. They looked side to side, before raising their hands to let flames cover the ceiling. Artemis gasped and jumped off the railing. You and Robin followed suit. You glanced at the beeping red bars of the machine next to you.

"That's not good." You said. You all ran through the room, narrowly avoiding shots of steam and fire.

"I know that other access tunnel is here somewhere," Robin muttered.

"You mean, this one?" Artemis jumped into another hole.

The room exploded behind you as you jumped in after Robin. You crawled forward.

"Hold on." He said and plugged in his wrist computer to the wall. "Locking out cave's motion and heat sensors to prevent the enemy from tracking us."

"And I ask again. Who  _is_  the enemy?" Artemis asked. Robin smirked.

"Let's find out." He said. "Downloading cave security footage... There."

You watched the footage with them and gasped when the camera went out.

"What happened?" You asked.

"Explosion took out the camera, I'll find another angle," Robin said. You winced as all the cameras went out.

"That's it. All four are dead." Artemis looked distraught, and Robin corrected himself. "The cameras, I meant the cameras. I-I'm sure the others are okay... Just gimme a sec to find the fastest route to the hangar."

Artemis leaned back against the sides of the tunnel. "Yeah. They're fine. They've all got superpowers. They can handle anything."

You coughed. "Trust me, that is  _not_  the case." Artemis looked at you. 

"That's right, you freaked out earlier. What was that about?" She asked. You sighed.

"I had a  _really_  bad experience with fire. That scene? Exactly like it." You waved your hands. "So, these powers aren't the be all end all of everything. They don't give you courage and the ability to figure everything out just because you have them. That comes from here," You tapped her chest, "And from here." You tapped her head.

"Done!" Robin said. He lead the both of you to a vent in the library. "There's a secret passage behind one of these bookcases."

"Seriously? Cliché much." Artemis said. You laughed.

"You should see the Batcave." You said, and Robin looked at you weirdly. Footsteps rang through the room and you hid behind a bookshelf.

" **Artemis. Robin. Icarus.** " A voice called out.

"It's Red Tornado!" Artemis said. She walked out, only to narrowly avoid being grabbed by a robot.

"Yes on the red, no on the tornado!" Robin said. You ran forward, only to be blocked by another robot. Flames shot out of her hands. 

"Who- What are they?" Artemis said. Robin looked for the book. The female robot knocked over a bookshelf, creating a domino effect. The passage opened, and you ran through.

"Did you know Tornado had..." Artemis started.

"Siblings?" You finished for her

"No," Robin said.

"So now what?" Artemis cried, "Red Tornado is one of the  _powerhouses_  of the league. How are we supposed to take down  _two_ of him?"

"They do seem pretty user-unfriendly." You said. Artemis glared.

"Don't joke!" She said, "They-"

" **Attention Robin. Attention Artemis. Attention Icarus. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender, or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished.** "

" **Nine minutes and forty-five seconds.** "

**~~**

" **Eight minutes.** "

"We can access the hangar from here," Robin said, but water flowed through the hallway. 

"Or not." You said.

"Will you please stop saying that!" Artemis cried. The water crashed into the three of you and rocketed you all forward. You grabbed your rebreather, took a breath, and gave it to Artemis. Robin already had his out. You unclasped your cape as it was only hindering you, when the male robot sped towards you and grabbed Artemis's leg. Robin swam forward and stabbed it with one of Artemis's floating arrows, effectively making it let go.

He grabbed Artemis by the waist, and you grabbed his other hand as he grappled you all towards the hangar. Once you resurfaced, you were gasping for air.

"Look out!" Wally called, and a fireball narrowly missed the three of you. It was the female robot again. You dived under the water and resurfaced near where Wally and Conner were trapped.

"You guys ok?" You asked.

"Forget us! Help M'gann!" Conner yelled. You looked up to see her and Aqualad trapped in a box made out of flames.

"Aqualad! Is she...?" Artemis called.

"She is unconscious. I fear she-  _we_  cannot survive much longer." Aqualad responded. More shots were fired. You swam towards the steps and stepped out. Somewhere along the way, Robin had ditched his cape. The water robot advanced towards the three of you. Artemis pulled out one of her last arrows, and Robin looked up, only to find the top blocked by the fire robot.

"I'm almost out of arrows," Artemis said.

"Distract her! Now!" You said. Artemis fired, and you shot at the other robot. Robin dived off the edge and into the water.

" **Six minutes.** " 

The three of you gasped for breath in the vents. Again.

"What do we do now?" Artemis said.

"We save them. That's how it works." You said grimly. 

"Maybe that's how it's supposed to work, but those four already took out our four _superpowered_  friends," Artemis said. 

"You seem distraught," Robin said calmly.

"Distraught?!" Artemis cried. "M'gann is dying, we have no useful powers, and I'm down to my last arrow!" You looked down. "Of course I'm distraught."

"Well get traught, or get  _dead_ ," Robin said.

"How can you be so calm?" Artemis asked.

"He's been doing this since he was nine." You muttered, just as Robin gave the same answer.

"What good is that now? What chance do we have against unrelenting machines?" Artemis said.

"Oh, duh! They're machines!" Robin said.

"And one electromagnetic pulse will shut down any machine within range!" You said.

"Great!" Artemis said, "Except you'd better have an EMP emitter in your utility belt, because I know I don't have one in my quiver."

"I'm fresh out," Robin said and glanced at you. You smirked.

"But I'm betting we can make one." You said.

"What do you say, KF? Doable?" Robin spoke into his earpiece.

"Totally doable!" Wally said.

" **Five Minutes.** "

"You know, if you had more time." 

You sighed. "I'll make more time. You do your thing, bird boy, arrow girl. Win for me." You smirked half-heartedly.and went back the way you came. 

"Wait, Icarus!" Robin reached out.

"Go! You don't have much time!" You said.

**~~**

You stalked out onto the hangar floor. 

"Alright, come and get me, you big hunks of trash metal!" You shouted.

"Icarus, what are you doing?!" Wally yell. You turned around and winked at him. 

"Just do your job, Walman!" You yelled at him. A fireball came your way. You dodged it and returned fire.  _Good_ , you thought,  _The fire girl's engaged, now for the water boy..._

" **Four minutes.** "

"Hey, red tomato!" You shouted at her, "Who's your boyfriend, red onion?!" That definitely got his attention. Both of them came at you at once. A tornado of steam and fire ripped around you, only for you to be slammed against the ground by a fist of water. You coughed, a bit of blood dribbling from your lip. 

"C'mon, is that the best you've got?" You jeered, teetering up. The girl robot shot flames at you, and you dodged them by jumping backward. "Hey, are you even  _aiming_  for me?" You taunted. 

"Icarus, look-!" Conner shouted, but it was too late. Your feet were swept off of the edge of the platform by a small wave of water. You fell. Headfirst, and without any time to spin around. The instant you hit the ground, everything went black.

**~~**

"Why did you let her do that?"

"She did it of her own volition. We couldn't do anything about it!"

"Guys, just-just be quiet, okay? I'm going to get the water out of her lungs."

"She's been like that for a really long time, will she be okay?"

The water flowed out of your lungs, but you stayed still.

"Icarus?" 

"Her heart rate is dangerously low. Flash, we need some electricity, stat!" 

The flash sped over. He shocked you in the way an AED would. Your body flinched before you gasped and opened your eyes. You turned on your side and coughed up some more water. It was pink from the blood in your mouth. You sat up and everyone looked at you expectantly.

"Did we win?" You chuckled, and everyone sighed in relief.

"Thank god you're alright." Wally hugged you.

"Thanks, bro, uhm, can't breath?" He let go. "Thank you. So. I'm guessing we won because the terrifying robots of the apocalypse aren't here?"

Robin was next to you. "Yeah, about that..."

**~~**

You sat on a couch in the commons with a blanket wrapped around you. You rubbed your temples. 

"Robin, that is some of the dumbest shit I have ever heard of. Don't ever try to act like you've drowned! It doesn't work! Also, Artemis, that was badass. And wait. So, RT is bad now? What?"

"We're still kind of confused about that fact ourselves," Batman said.

"B-man!" You said, raising your arms. He acknowledged you with a pat on the head. 

"Wally. Take Icarus home to get some rest. And Icarus? No school tomorrow." He said. Your mouth fell open.

"But- but- but- It's the second day of school! We're actually going to get homework!" You sputtered.

"I'll have someone give it to you. Now. No school. I've informed your parents as well as your uncle." He responded. You groaned. 

"Fine."

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 7**

 

_Yo okay I'm not entirely sure what that fluffy part at the beginning was, it just sort of spewed out. More notes on the next chapter._


	8. Alpha Male

Green Arrow placed a bowl of pretzels down on the table in front of everyone. You had your head in your arms, with a bored expression. You were exhausted from the Red Fiasco that had happened only the night before.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Wally said.

"Yeah, what we want are answers." Robin gesticulated. "About Red Tornado and his siblings."

"Exactly," Wally said. Green Arrow started to take the pretzels away. "Leave the bowl." He immediately started crunching on them.

"You knew?!" Conner suddenly started yelling. He grabbed Kaldur by the collar. "That android and his family nearly killed M'gann."

"Conner, what are you doing?" M'gann flew over.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said  _nothing!!_ " 

You blinked.  _A traitor?_ You thought,  _Well, Kaldur wouldn't do anything to hurt us. Plus, if he told the team, the mole would be alerted too._

"You knew?" Robin said.

"And didn't tell us?" Wally added.

"I sought to protect the team from-" Kaldur tried to speak.

"From what? Knowledge that might have saved our lives?" Artemis interrupted him.

"You almost died!" Conner said to M'gann.

"Enough." Batman's voice rang through the room, effectively cutting everyone off. He glared, and Conner let go of Kaldur. "With Red Tornado... Missing, the team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift." The buff dude towered over everyone.

"I'm really looking forward to hanging with you guys." He said. Conner muttered something to Kaldur, but Batman interrupted. You blocked out the conversation. Because of your 'injuries', you had been forced to lay in bed all day, without anyone to keep you company. Not even Dick. Seems Batman had really meant it when he said to get some rest. 

"Gotham Mayor Attacked by Guerilla Gorilla?" Wally said. You burst out laughing. Everyone glared at you, and you sheepishly grinned.

' _Is this the best he could find to distract us?_ ' Conner's voice rang through everyone's head. For once, you agreed with him.

"Batman, please." Robin said, "Tell me you're not sending us on this joke of a wild ape chase." Batman's eyes narrowed.

"I  _never_  joke about the mission." He growled. Robin looked down. "I've checked the sources. I've studied the patterns. Mayor Hill's encounter is only the latest in a series of incidents. Aqualad. You and your team will depart for India and check this out." Kaldur nodded. Wally scoffed as he walked past him.

" _Your_  team." You sighed and stood up from the table to walk over to Kaldur.

"Look, Kal. Why'd you do it?" You asked, looking up at him.

"The source was Sportsmaster," Aqualad replied. You laughed out loud.

"Sportsmaster? Are you kidding me? No  _wonder_  you kept quiet. I wouldn't trust that guy as far as I could throw him! Which... Isn't far." Kaldur nodded. "If you're ever wondering? I'll always be by your side. So don't give up, 'kay? The other guys'll come around. It just may take longer than you'd expect." You reached up to pat his shoulder and walked to the bioship.

You walked up just as Sphere rolled up as well.

"Uh-uh. Go." Conner said. Sphere beeped a few times before rolling back. Conner walked into the ship, and Captain Marvel flew up.

"You're coming with us?" I asked.

"Sure!" He replied, "We'll have a blast."

"Translation?" Robin said as the Captain walked inside, "He blames us for Red Fiasco. Doesn't trust us." Wally looked at Kaldur who had just walked up.

"It's a big club." He sneered. You scoffed and whacked the back of his head.

"Don't be an a-"

"Icarus."

"Butthole! I was gonna say butthole!" You sighed. "Kaldur had a perfectly good reason to keep the mole from us. If you would get the stick out of your butt, you'd see that. C'mon, Rob."

**~~**

Once you landed in India, things started to get even tenser.

"All clear," Robin called.

"Switch to stealth," Kaldur said. "And we'll review mission parameters."

You tapped the clasp to your cape, turning it, and your clothes, a dark grey.

"Parameters?" Kid Flash said, "We don't need no stinkin' parameters."

"It's recon, we know what to do," Robin said. They walked away. 

"Kid, Robin!" Kaldur said. Robin turned around in anger.

"The three of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from  _us_ ," Robin said.

"Or, did you forget that? Like you forgot to tell us about the mole." They ran away. You rolled your eyes.

"I'll go with them. Maybe put their heads on straight." You followed them.

You walked through the jungle after them.

"Guys. Guys!" They ignored you.

"Look, you little dipshits, do you have any idea what this looks like from Kaldur's perspective?" They stopped and turned to you. "Thank you. Sure. He kept one measly little secret from us. But the secrets that the three of us alone have greatly outweigh the one he has. Did you ever stop to think about what might have happened if Kaldur had told us straight up? We wouldn't have trusted  _anyone_. But now, since he kept it a secret, the only person we don't trust, is  _him_. Which would you prefer?" The boys were speechless. You coughed. "Anyways. Just-" You were cut off as giant vultures attacked from above, knocking the three of you over.

"I thought vultures only ate dead meat!" Robin said, tossing a few of his birdarangs at the beasts. You shot a few bolts of fire into the air, warding them off for a bit.

"Yeah! These are some very proactive scavengers!" KF said as the three of you ran.

"Proactive and supersize!" You added.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Robin said,

"Kobra venom?" KF replied.

"Yeah."

Robin darted off into the bushes and KF ran straight, both drawing some vultures with them. You drew some off as well, shooting fire to keep them at bay, but to also keep their attention. A shot of fire hit one of the beast's glowing collars, effectively frying it. As soon as the glow died, the bird flew away, ignoring you.

"Guys! KF, Rob! The collars!" You yelled. They nodded, understanding.

A few minutes later, Miss Martain's voice rang through your head.

' _Link established._ '

' _Should he really still be giving us orders?_ ' Artemis said. ' _And should you really be following them?_ '

' _Listen, please._ ' Aqualad said.

' _Oh, good!_ ' Kid Flash said sarcastically, ' _Aqualad's voice in my head. I've so missed that._ ' 

' _Oh, give it a break, will you?_ ' You groaned, ' _I'm guessing this is about giant Kobra venom-induced creatures with inhibitor collars from Bel Rev? Because Rob, KF, and I were attacked by vultures._ '

' _Of course, since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves._ ' Robin said.

' _Even if he did think so? He wouldn't tell you_.' That was Artemis.

' _Superboy, are you online? Or just pouting_.' M'gann said.

' _Busy. Call back later_.' He said. 

' _What gets me is how nonchalant he is about telling us_.' Kid Flash said. 

' _He should be chalant! Way chalant!_ ' Robin added. Everyone argued back and forth for a while before you got fed up.

' _Enough! You chose Kaldur to be our leader because you trusted him to make the right decisions._ ' You yelled into the link. Everyone fell silent.

' _Captain Marvel has been captured._ ' Aqualad said. ' _And we must act as a team to save him_.'

' _Under your leadership?_ ' KF scoffed. ' _I don't think so-_ '

' _This is not up for debate._ ' Aqualad interrupted. ' _Once the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader, I will happily step down. But until that time, I **am**  in command here._'

**~~**

' _I'll fly over_.' Miss Martain said. Everyone had met back up and had found a lair in the middle of the jungle.

' _Negatory. The field is blocked by a dome over the whole compound._ ' KF said, looking at the area with his goggles.

' _Highlines are insulated. But one good shot could cause a momentary gap._ ' Robin typed away on his wrist computer. 

' _I see a target._ ' Artemis said.

' _Then be ready to hit it. Be ready, all of you._ ' Aqualad said. He ran up and tangled with the electricity for a bit.

' _Now!_ ' KF said. Artemis aimed and let go. Her arrow flew true, and hit the control panel, shutting down the force field. You ran to the field where Aqualad was standing and the others joined you. You heard footsteps from above and looked up. Your face paled.

"Guys. Monkeys!"  You alerted the team as said animals attacked. The leader of the monkeys yelled as alarms went off. You lit your hands up with flames, keeping the monkeys at bay. Occasionally one would get close, causing you to jump back towards the compound.

"Remove their collars!" Aqualad called.

"Sounds easy when he says it!" Robin grappled with three monkeys at once. Artemis shot them off of him. The monkeys around you were constantly shifting, not allowing for you to have a chance at their collars. You jumped back again, running into something hard. It didn't feel like the building. You gulped and looked up. It was the gorilla. Holding a very large gun. You shrieked and shot flames from your feet to lift you into the air away from the animal.

"G-Guerilla gorilla!" You yelled. The gorilla grabbed thin-air and threw M'gann to the ground. The gun in its hand started rotating.

"Keep your paws off her, you darn dirty ape!" Kid Flash tried to run into the gorilla but just ended up ricocheting off of it. Miss Martain groaned and got up. 

"Miss M! Telechenisis, please!" You yelled and her eyes started to glow. She lifted the gorilla off the ground and threw it against the doors, causing it to crash through. She floating in through the dust cloud, and the team followed. Once the dust cleared, you could assess the situation.

"It's the Brain!" KF said.

"Ugh! I can see it's a brain," Artemis said sarcastically.

"Not  _a_  brain,  _the_ Brain!" KF waived his hand.

"In the flesh." The Brain said, "So to speak. Mallah." The gorilla pressed something in his hand, and metal spires popped out of the ground. They started glowing, and suddenly all of the strength left your body, causing you to collapse on the ground.

' _Miss Martain, Superboy, now!_ ' Aqualad said. M'gann's eyes started glowing and the remote flew out of the gorilla's hand. The spires turned off, and you scrambled to your feet. The wall behind the pair of evil-doers exploded, revealing Superboy and a very large white wolf. The wolf attacked the gorilla, and the team joined the fray. 

You looked around and found Captain Marvel strapped to a table. He had one of the inhibitor collars on. Aqualad distracted the Brain as you ran towards the captain.

"Hey, Cap, glad to see us?" You joked as you placed your hands on the collar. "Now, don't move. Otherwise, you might get burned." Your hands heated up, and the plastic melted in your hands. 

"Thanks!" Captain Marvel said, "And one good turn deserves another." He broke the collar that was around a tiger's neck. The tiger jumped up as if to protect the captain. The gorilla roared, and Superboy scowled.

"Try it." He growled, "I hate monkeys."

"No, Mallah, this will not be our Waterloo," the Brain said. He... expanded was the only way to describe it, parts of his chassis opening up and whirring.

"Get down!" You yelled. The lights suddenly turned off.

"Wait..." Kid Flash said once the lights turned on, "That big weapon thing... Was a light switch?" You shrugged.

**~~**

You walked next to Wally and Artemis. He had something in his hand.

"What are you grinning about?" Artemis asked.

"One word," he said, placing the object on his head. It was the gorilla's hat. "Souvenir!"

"Two words," You said, "Gorilla lice!"

"Huh?" He tore the hat off and held it at a distance. "Aw, man!"

A tiger ran past you. You followed it with your eyes, landing on the white wolf that Superboy was playing with.

"The rest of the pack is gone, what are you still doing here?" He chuckled.

"I think he wants to stay with you," M'gann said.

"Can I keep him?"

"First the sphere, now this beast?" Wally laughed. "Dude, you sure make a habit of collecting strays."

"Maybe that's because he's such a stray himself," M'gann said.

"Well, he's gonna need a name!" Wally said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Aaaahhh, how's about Krypto?" The wolf growled.

"Taken." You flicked the side of Wally's forehead. 

"Ow!"

"Look, I need to know." Robin's voice distracted everyone. "Why did you keep the mole intel a secret?" The team gathered around him and Kaldur. Kaldur glanced around a couple times.

"The source of the tip was Sportsmaster." He said.

"What?!" Artemis exclaimed, "You can't trust him!" You rolled your eyes.

"I do not." Kaldur said, "It seemed possible, even likely, that he was trying to divide the team with false information."

"And given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded." Robin said, "But you had to consider it might be true. You were right, Icarus." You shrugged.

"Both sides of the story." You mumbled.

"Yes. In which case I did not want to alert the traitor." Kaldur said.

"I hate to say it, but... Makes sense." Robin said.

"I am still prepared to step down," Kaldur responded. You scoffed.

"All in favor of keeping Aqualad as leader?" You said, sticking one hand in your pocket and the other in the air. Everyone raised their hand.

"Guess it's unanimous." Captain Marvel said, "See you tomorrow."

"You're not coming back with us?" Kaldur said after shaking the captain's hand.

"Nope. Gotta fly." He took off.

"So. What  _are_  you gonna name him?" M'gann asked regarding the wolf.

"I dunno... What's wrong with Wolf?" Conner responded.

"Generic, but acceptable," Wally said.

You walked up to Kaldur and put your hand on his shoulder. 

"See? I told you they'd come around. You made the right choice." You said. Kaldur smiled.

"Thanks, Icarus." He said. You grinned.

"No problem!"

**~~**

Once you were back in the cave, Batman called everyone in for a mission debriefing. You were extremely tired and decided to sit down on the ground for it. Wolf padded up to you.

"Hey, big guy." You whispered, rubbing his head. He licked your face before laying down behind you. You leaned back against him, blinking sleepily. Less than a minute later, you were asleep. 

Once the debriefing was over, Wally turned around to find you to go home. The sight he saw was one of the most adorable things he had ever seen. He beckoned the team over. One of the youngest members of their team was fast asleep against their newest member. Wolf had his tail resting on you like a big blanket.

"I think he's going to fit in well," Batman said.

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 8**

 

_Wow, look at me, a double update, with each over 2500 words long, yaaaayyyyy. Sorry, it's to make up for the shit updates for the past couple of weeks. Hope you like them. Oh, and the song from the last chapter? Expect it again. ;)_

_~ Maddy_


	9. Mental Bonding and Realizations

**_Yo, so uh slight warning? Minor bullying, if you're sensitive to that kinda stuff._ **

It was about a week after the team went to India and learned about the mole. During that week, your studies had increased tenfold. Your classes had started to pick up speed, however, being such a young freshman with such high-level classes also meant a lot of unwanted attention. 

"Hey, nerd."

"Haha, look at the little idiot acting like she belongs."

Three upperclassmen boys had you trapped in an empty classroom after school, and were jeering at you. 

"Whoops!" One of them smacked the books out of your hand. Papers went flying everywhere. As you reached down to grab them, he stepped on your fingers. "Oh, sorry, you're so small I didn't even see you!" The other boys laughed.

"Here, let me help you up." The second boy pushed you over and into a desk as you tried to get up. The rest thought that was hilarious. You sat on the ground, cowering away from them. 

The third boy placed his foot against your chest, knocking you fully to the ground. He then kicked you in the ribs sharply. The second boy held you down with a hand around your neck. 

"Listen closely, kid." He sneered, leaning close to you. "You don't belong here. And if you even  _think_  about joining our school's knowledge bowl team? We'll be back. And it'll make this time seem like a daydream." And with that, they were gone. 

You let the tears run down your checks and sobbed silently. They had done this almost every day. You had almost gotten used to the teasing and the open bullying in the halls, but this was the most extreme.

You pulled yourself together and put your stuff in your bag before walking to the bathroom. A large bruise in the shape of a hand was appearing on your neck. Your hand was scrapped up also. You sighed and drew out some concealer you used for this occasion. 

**~~**

"Recognized: Icarus, B-27." You walked into the cave with your civies on as the electronic voice announced your arrival. 

"Yo, Icarus!" Wally called, waving at you.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late, I got... Held up at school." You waved back. The team was crosslegged and sitting in a circle in the training room. "What are you guys doing?" Robin opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the person standing behind everyone.

"Mental training activity." You looked at them. It was J'onn. "So glad you could join us."

"Oh, h-hi, Martian Manhunter." You said.

"Please, sit down with the rest of the team," J'onn said. You nodded and sat in between Robin and M'gann. "Now that Icarus has so kindly graced us with her presence, we may begin. You will form mental blocks in your mind, and the team and I will try and breach them. Those whose minds we enter will be unaware with what we are doing, unless their mind is breached. This is in preparation for if you meet another villain like Psimon again. Close your eyes. Now, imagine something that keeps someone out and away. A wall, or a fence, for instance. Draw that image clear into your mind, and hold it there. Maybe there is something protecting the wall. A dragon, or thorns, for example. Imagine the wall encircling you, and your very being."

You took a deep breath. A few seconds later, J'onn spoke again.

"We will test M'gann first." 

You felt cold crawl over your mind, and when you opened your eyes, it was dark. Minus M'gann, the team now stood in what seemed like endless darkness. Then, a reflective wall popped up out of seemingly nowhere, encasing everyone. 

J'onn turned to it. He tapped it. Tapped it again. The second time, a crack formed. A feeling of loneliness sprouted out, but the wall quickly shifted to cover up the crack. J'onn smiled.

"Very good, M'gann. I see you remember your training from mars." He said. "Moving counterclockwise, Artemis is up next." The world seemed to spin, and when it stopped, everyone was standing in front of a hole in the forest. 

Wally shrugged and walked up to peer into the hole.

"I'm afraid you can't go in, boyo." A snarky voice said from above. You looked up. The Cheshire cat lazily flicked its tail back and forth. "Your little Alice has fallen way too far down the hole."

Everyone was forcibly ejected from Artemis's mind.

"Also very good," J'onn said. "I am impressed by your mental fortitude. Moving on, Aqualad."

His mental block was a large wave, standing over everyone. A blurry Atlantis was able to be seen through the water. You shrugged and walked up to the wave. Your hand could pass right through it. J'onn pulled everyone out.

"Ugh... I apologize, I am... Not the best with mental fortitude." Kaldur said. 

"Dude, it's fine. None of us can breath underwater, anyways." You said. You picked up a small rock off of the floor and threw it at him. "It's no big deal." Kaldur smiled. 

"Ahem," J'onn cleared his throat, "Continuing on. Superboy shall be next." 

You opened your eyes to a small house surrounded by a white picket fence. It was simple, with corn swaying in the slight breeze around you. The fence was low, and easy for you to step over. However, as soon as you put your foot down on the other side, your mind flooded with images that you did  _not_  want to see. You stepped back immediately. 

"Yup, I'm out. That was  _not_  cool." J'onn pulled the team out. 

"You all good, Icarus?" Superboy said, "Sorry about that. My mental skills are subpar." You shook your head.

"Nah, I'm fine. Let's keep going." You smirked, "The Walman is up next!" You shot finger guns at him as he groaned. 

"I told you to stop calling me that," Wally said as you were plunged into his mind. His wall was simple brick, stretching on either side for what seemed like miles. Artemis walked up to the wall and put her hand on it. In almost an instant, the wall came crumbling down. Everyone was thrust into a scene that was all too familiar to you. The warehouse.

"(Y/N)!" You heard Wally scream. You were flooded with emotions, anger, sadness, anxiety. But overpower all of them was the disappointment in himself.

"Jesus Christ," Robin muttered and you nodded in agreement. You opened your eyes to the real world and saw Wally with his head in his hands. You rolled your eyes at him.

"Cheer up, idiot. It's in the past." You said. He chuckled.

"Yeah, dude, (Y/N)'s fine," Robin added. Wally shook his head hard, clearing it of intruding thoughts.

"You're right." He said.

"Who is... (Y/N)?" M'gann asked.

"She's my sister." Wally answered, "Hey, maybe I should bring her here sometime!" You froze with what you were doing and almost choked on air.

"Uh, Wally? I  _really_  don't think that's a good idea." You said. Wally smirked.

"Why not? The team can meet my sister, Robin's girlfr-" Robin whacked the back of Wally's head hard enough to send him rocketing forward. As he was sprawled out on the floor, Robin growled;

"Not. Another. Word." Wally just laughed.

"May we please continue?" J'onn said. Wally and Robin apologized and nodded. "Thank you." Without warning, you were thrust into Robin's mind. His wall was up instantly, but it was unlike any other the team had seen before. It was a circus tent. The rest of the team, excluding you, went up to the tent and tried to open the flap to the inside. Each time, an unknown force would push them back. You were the last to try. Surprisingly enough, you could walk right in.

"What the...?" You looked around, "Oh, no..." It was Haley's Circus, the night Dick's parent's died. You saw him, kneeling in front of their dead bodies. You stumbled backward out of the tent, and into Wally. 

"Get us out of here." You whispered to J'onn. He pulled you out, and you drew your knees up to your chest. Thoughts filled your head.

_Why was I the only one who could enter?_

_Why were his parents there?_

_Is that all he thinks about?_

"Icarus." Everyone else knew, but not you. You didn't have time to prepare as they plunged into your mind, but you didn't even notice. You were still lost in thought.

A scene popped up. A boy and a girl, both shaking hands, but their eyes were scratched out by a constantly changing black scribble.

"We'll be friends forever, right, D̶̡̬̱̬̙͔̈́̐̄i̸̛̙̬̫̜̤͛͋̈̿̎ͅc̶̡̋̍͂͛̏k̶͈̳̬̻̠̙͋?" The last word was garbled and covered in static.

"Of course!" The boy smiled

Then, the image fell and burned like a photograph, and flames sprang up around the team. The same girl popped up right in front of the team. This time, a red and dripping smile was added to the constantly changing scribble over her eyes.

"Hello! Welcome to my mind! I really don't think you'd like it here so please,  **get out.** " The girls' voice glitched and a high pitched static entered everyone's mind. Everyone groaned and put their hands up to their ears.

Wally opened his mouth to speak, but the static suddenly stopped. A blood-curdling scream ripped through everyone's mind. 

The image of the girl flicked in and out with another. This time, she was older. She was the source of the screaming. Obvious burn marks and bruises littered her skin. The scribble was still there, but obvious tears streamed down her face. Feelings of intense pain and anguish flooded everyone's mind and disappeared as fast as they came.

J'onn pulled everyone out. They looked at you, with terrified looks on their faces. You stared at the ground, oblivious that they had even begun. 

"Well?" You asked, "Aren't I next? I had this really cool rock wall thing going, and I kinda wanted to-"

"Wait. You mean your mind is like that all the time?" Artemis said. Her voice was quiet.

"What do you mean?" You asked. 

"Icarus..." M'gann spoke, "Uncle J'onn already took us into your mind. I assumed the fire was your wall, but..." Your face paled.

_They hate you. They've seen that you've been lying to them._

_Lying._

_Ly **ing.**_

_**LIAR.** _

You took a deep, shuddery breath in. 

"I- I- I don't know what you're talking about?" You said. "I, uh," You gulped. Your eyes flicked back and forth between the team members. "Isn't it kinda biased for me to be the only one to not know when people are invading my mind?"

"Icarus, I-" M'gann started, but you hastily stood up.

"I apologize for this, but I have to go." You bowed to J'onn before running out of the room to the Zeta tubes.

**~~**

You sat in the middle of a park in San Francisco, overlooking the bay. With the Zeta tubes, it was easy to get there, and you needed to get away from all of the noise at home to clear your head.

The fact that they had been able to enter your mind so easily scared you. And from the way everyone reacted, you knew what they had seen hadn't been good. Your breathing started to get labored, and you put your head in your hands.  _Oh, great, an anxiety attack, just what I needed_. You tried to take a deep breath and-

A hand fell on your shoulder. Your breath stopped and you looked up.

"Dick?" You whispered, "Why are you-"

"C'mon, babe, you really think I wouldn't know where you were?" Dick smiled sadly, sat down, and drew you into his arms. "Everyone at your house is worried about you. Your mom said you just disappeared." You grabbed a fistful of his shirt.

"Sorry." You whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, (Y/N). It's alright. We all need our alone time." He placed his hand on your head. "I get it."

You stayed in his arms for a few minutes, before taking a deep breath and standing up. "I'm okay now."

"You sure?" He asked. You nodded. He stood up. 

"I'm here for you, okay?" He placed his hands on your cheeks, lifting your head, "I always will be." Suddenly his brow furrowed and his hand trailed down to your neck, rubbing in gently.

"Concealer? Why are you... What's...?" His face darkened. "Someone hurt you." You pushed away from him and put your hands around your neck.

"I-It's nothing, D, I just g-got tang-gled up in someth-thing, i-it's no b-big deal!" You stuttered, and Dick grabbed your arm.

"(Y/N)..." Dick sighed, "It was those knowledge bowl kids, wasn't it? They're always so hard on people who're smarter than them." You looked down and nodded, dropping your hands. The concealer had completely rubbed off, revealing the hand-shaped bruise around your neck. It was turning a nasty shade of purple. Dick's face turned murderous.

"I'm going to take you home. Right now. And then, I have some business to attend to." He growled. 

**~~**

The next day, the three boys came up to you and apologized profusely. You frowned and walked over to Dick once they were done.

"What did you do?" He smirked.

"Who, me? Absolutely nothing." You rolled your eyes.

"Dork."

"Hey, at least I'm  _your_  dork!"

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter Nine**

_Reader: Hey, can I get uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh some quality content and not something you just shot out of your ass?_

_Me:_

_Me: *looks at brain*_

_Brain: *shrugs*_

_Me: *looks at the reader*_

_Me:*shrugs*_

_yoooooo so here's something ive been thinking about it's partially inspired by a chapter in the story "How to guess a Robin's identity" on Wattpad but uh yeah._

_~Maddy_

_P.S. Infinity war screwed me over, man_


	10. Meetings and Revelations

"(Y/N). Heeeeyyyyyy (Y/N)." Wally said.

"What do you want?" You groaned. He smirked.

"Ya know, I wasn't joking about you seeing the team." He said. You groaned again, louder this time.

"No. No fucking way." You said, slamming your head against your desk, "Wally, we literally have a mind reader on our team. You really think she's not going to notice who I am?" He shrugged.

"I could ask her not to. Plus, you'll get the opportunity to be with Dick~" You squinted, skeptical.

"I'll think about it..." You said after a moment of thought. Wally pumped his fist.

"Great! We'll go in a couple hours." He said before walking out the door.

"That doesn't mean yes!" You called after him, scowling.

**~~**

Several hours, against your wishes, you were standing in front of the zeta transport in Keystone.

"Do we really have to do this?" You whined, placing your hands on your hips. A slight breeze blew down the alleyway, and you shivered.

"Yes, now come on!" Wally said, "They don't know you're coming, so it'll be a surprise to Dick. God, you two are so sappy sometimes..." He muttered the last sentence.

"What?" You asked.

"Nothing!" He nearly shouted. You rolled your eyes.

**~~**

"Recognized: Kid Flash B02. Recognized: Y/N G11." You stepped into the common room of the cave, greeted by the gazes of several team members, all in civilian clothing.

"Guys, this is the one and only-"

"(Y/N)?" Robin cut Wally off, "What're you doing here?"

You shrugged.

"This idiot invited me. Wouldn't take no for an answer. I've still got that math homework to do." Robin winced sympathetically.

"The trig stuff from Mr. Bets?"

"Bingo." You said unenthusiastically. You looked at the team, and put on a smile and prepared to lie hardcore. "You guys must be Wally and Robin's teammates. I'm (Y/N), Wally's younger sister."

"Well met, (Y/N). I am Aqualad." Kaldur walked up and extended his hand. "But you may call me Kaldur." You grinned and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you!" You said cheerfully. Wolf padded up to you and sniffed you up and down before licking your face.  _Damnit, Wolf! Don't give me away!_

"This is Superboy or Conner Kent, and Miss Martian or M'gann," Kaldur said, gesturing to each of them. They waved, and you waved back. You smirked as you saw a blonde ponytail peeking over the back of the couch. You smirked, knowing who it was. You walked around and looked at Artemis hiding.

"Crock-Pot?" You smugly called her by the nickname you had given her at school as she looked up.

"Oh, h-hey, (Y/N)! Fancy seeing you here!" She stuttered and grinned sheepishly.

You suddenly remembered the photo Dick had taken of the three of you. Your gaze flicked from Artemis to Robin and back again.

"Ooohhhhh." You said, smirking. " _That's_  what the picture was for, Rob." His eyes widened when he realized what you were talking about.

"Don't you dare!" He said, and you burst out laughing.

"Don't worry ba-" You coughed, "Uh, Robin." Your face turned red. "Your secrets been safe with me for years, I won't blow it now."

**~~**

"Hey, Rob?" Wally shouted from across the room.

"Yeah?" Robin turned around a touch too quickly. You gasped as the cold water ran down your shirt.

"Oh, shit!" Robin said, "I'm so sorry, (Y/N)!"

"What the fuck!" You said. Water dripped onto the floor. M'gann floated a towel over, and you grabbed it from midair. You began sponging the water out of your shirt, and Robin kept mumbling apologies. Eventually, you got fed up.

"Robin! It's fine! It's just water, it's not like I'm going to melt!" You snapped, and he shut up. You sighed. "There. That's the driest it's going to get." You said.

Robin looked at your shirt and blushed, looking away.

"What?" You said.

"Just..." He didn't look at you, but grabbed your hand and dragged you to the bathroom. Once you were there, he tugged off his hoodie and handed it to you.

"Dick, what the fuck is going on?" You said, making sure no one was around.

"Your shirt's see-through when its wet." He mumbled, face still red. You felt your face heat up, and you hurriedly put the hoodie on.

"T-Thanks..." You stuttered. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I don't think anyone else saw anything." He said, finally looking back at you. You smiled softly."That's good." You stood on your tip toes to give him a kiss on his cheek. He grabbed your face and kissed you full on. Your lips moved in sync with his and you ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

After a few seconds, he pulled away.

"God, I feel like I've been deprived of you." He muttered, pulling you close. You laughed softly as you hugged him.

As the two of you walked back, Wally glanced between the two of you suspiciously. You gave him the 'Wtf, Wally?' look, and he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, hello, Megan!" M'gann said and smacked her forehead. "I've been meaning to ask this all day long! Where's Icarus, Wally?" Your mouth dried up and you froze.

Wally's gaze flicked quickly from M'gann to you and back again.

"Oh, she's- uh- she's-" He stuttered and your face paled. "She's working on a school project!" He said finally, and you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. You noticed Robin looking at you and you turned to smile at him. You stuck out your tongue and he laughed.

"Anyways, it was nice meeting you guys! I've still got more stuff to do, so I've gotta blast. See ya!" You said. "Oh, and Wally? Mom said to be home by 5, unless you've got some sort of mission. We're having curry."

Robin groaned."Man, I wish I could come. Your mom's curry is the best." He said. You laughed.

"I'll ask." You waved before going into the Zeta tubes.

**~~**

A few moments before you got home, Wally texted you.

 **Sir Eats-A-Lot:**  Hey I know you just left but you should prolly come back rn

 **Coffee-holic:**  Whyyyy

 **Sir Eats-A-Lot:** Training. Zatara wants everyone here

 **Coffee-holic:** ugh fine lemme change first brb

You groaned and walked in through the front door.

"Welcome back, sweety!" Your mom said,

"Hi, Mom." You gave her a quick hug, "I've got to leave in a second, but would it be okay if Dick came over for dinner? He  _loves_  your curry." Your mom smiled.

"Of course, honey, he's always welcome here. Have fun with your team!" She called after you as you ran upstairs. You texted Dick while you were changing.

**~~**

"Recognized: Icarus B27." You stepped into to room with your sunglasses on to see Robin and Aqualad already training.

"Hey!" You shouted, and they stopped.

"Yo, Icarus!" Robin said, "You just missed Wally's sister!"

"Oh, (Y/N)?" Your own name felt weird coming out of your mouth, "Too bad." M'gann and Superboy walked into the room, Wolf at their side. M'gann giggled. "You know they're together, right?" You said, and Robin scoffed.

"I believe I knew before they did," Aqualad said. You laughed.

"The question is; do we tell them?" Robin gestured to Wally and Artemis as they walked in the room.

"It is not our place," Aqualad replied. Wally walked up to the three of you.

"So if Zatara is our babysitter, why is he still here?" Wally glared at Captain Marvel, "And why is he eating my snacks?!"

You opened your mouth to retort but were cut off by the automated voice ringing through the room.

"Recognized: Batman 02." The caped crusader stalked into the room. All movement ceased.

"Computer. Pull up national news." He ordered, and a screen popped up. Reporter Cat Grant began talking.

"The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve. And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."

You watched the screen as large plants turned a building to rubble.

"Holy shi-"

"Icarus. Language." Batman cut you off.

"Should we get out there?" Robin said.

"No." Batman said, "The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here. According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' blockbuster formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it with Bane's venom to create Kobra venom!" Wally said.

"Which Brain used to create his animal army," Robin said, and you nodded.

"And upgrade Wolf," Superboy put in.

"The brain also used inhibitor collars, like the one at Bel Rev," M'gann said.

"Batman, is it possible that this plant's on Kobra venom too?" You asked.

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis." He replied, "Divine cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences, unrelated criminals working together worldwide," Aqualad said.

"Exactly." Batman said, "It's now clear our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of super villains. The attack on Metropolis is only the beginning."

"You got that right." Robin typed on at his wrist computer and images popped up as he talked, "Plant creatures have sprouted up in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei-" Suddenly, static crackled across all the screens.

"Dude!" You said.

"It's not me!" He said defensively as he typed away furiously, "Someone's cutting the satellite signal- all satellite signals!" Suddenly, Joker's face popped up.

" **Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you this important announcement...** " He paused and rotated the camera, to show Poison Ivy, Count Virtigo, Black Adam, Ultra-Humanite, Wotan, and Atomic Skull.

" **From the Injustice League.** " Joker laughed.

" **We are responsible for the attacks on your cities.** " Count Virtigo said, " **If you wish to save them, a ransom of 10 billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But the longer your governments wait...** "

" **The more we get to have our jollies!** " The video cut out on the Joker laughing.

"Roger that Aquaman," Batman muttered into his earpiece. "The UN will prepare the ransom as a fallback, but it  _won't_  come to that."

You frowned and pushed Robin away to type on his computer. You were a bit to close for his liking, with your hair basically shoved in his face. He took an involuntary whiff.  _She smells good... No, Dick, stop. 1, you have a girlfriend, and 2, we've got a mission. Focus!_  He frowned and thought to himself.

"Seven heavy hitters." You said, after naming off all of the members. Robin shook his head and pushed you out of the way.

"They're probably behind everything and everyone we've faced." He said.

"There's your secret society," Wally muttered.

"Not so secret anymore." Artemis scoffed.

"Perhaps after India, they realized we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer," Kaldur said. You nodded.

"Yeah? Well, that was their mistake." Wally smirked, "Right now I say we go kick some plant creature butt!"

"The Justice League will handle the plants." Batman said, "I have a different job for this team."

"Aw, man," Wally said. Artemis hit his arm.

"With the plants attacking so many locations simultaneously, there must be a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it." Batman said. Zatara walked over.

"You realize what you are asking them to do?" He asked in his soft accent.

"They are ready," Batman said.

"Ready? Ready for what?" Wally said. You rolled your eyes, and ht his arm. "Ow! Will you cut that-"

"Hello, Wally!" Artemis cut him off. "If the big guns are fighting plants..."

"Who do you think we'll be fighting?" You finished for her.

"I don't know. I guess we'll-" He started, but you stuck out your finger towards the screen. "Ohh."

"Well, Batman, I trust you're correct," Zatara said.

"I trust you can locate the enemy," Batman replied.

"Indeed. Wotan's informants suggest sorcery is part of how the plants are controlled." Zatara said, "Robin, if you will provide a holo-map, I'll search for signs of concentrated sorcerous activity." Robin did as Zatara asked. Zatara shouted a few words backwards and a red dot appeared on the screen.

"There." He said. "That is where you will find the Injustice League's central control system."

"Coordinates locked in." Robin said, "The Louisiana bayou."

"We are on our way," Aqualad said.

"Autobots, roll out!" You muttered. Robin was the only one who heard you, and he laughed. The team ran to the hangar.

**~~**

You typed on your own holographic wrist computer and suddenly laughed out loud.

"Hey, Wally." You smirked. "We've got to take Unc-- Uh, the Flash here sometime. This bayou is called Bayou Bartholomew, isn't that hilarious?!" You laughed some more, and Kid Flash smirked. He took another bite out of his banana.

"Hey, Kal. What's in the duffle?" He asked. Aqualad glanced away.

"Plan B." He said.

"Oof. I'm guessing plan B is bad?" You said. "Get it? Plan  _B?_ " Robin rolled his eyes. M'gann gasped and groaned suddenly.

"You okay?" You asked.

"Dizzy." She replied.

"Martians get airsick?" Robin asked.

"She does look a bit greener than usual," Kid Flash commented.

"Not me, her," M'gann said.

"I feel fine!" Artemis said, placing a hand on her chest.

"Not you," M'gann groaned, "The bioship! She's trying to shield us but-" She was cut off by the ship suddenly lurching forward, throwing you off balance. As the ship careened downwards, another outside force hit the ship, throwing it into the water. Large, thick vines sprang out of the water, pinning the bioship down.

M'gann shouted as Black Adam tore a hole in the side of the ship. Superboy growled and punched him away, but the hole stayed, spewing water. As the ship filled up, Artemis freaked out.

"No! No  _way_  I am nearly downing three missions in a row!" She said and pulled a couple rebreathers out of her bag. She tossed one to Kid Flash.

"Uh... Thanks?" He said.

You took a deep breath right before water filled up the ship.

' _M'gann, we need to get out!_ ' You shouted into the mind link.

' _Hello, Megan!_ ' She smacked her forehead, ' _Of course!_ ' She opened a hole in the bioship and everyone swam out. As you looked back on the ship once you were on the shore, the vines pulled it down into the water.

"She's in shock." M'gann said, "She'll need time to recover." As you turned back around, a sudden overwhelming dizzyness overcame you, and you collapsed to the ground.

"Viritgo..." Kid Flash growled.

" **That's** ** _Count_** **Virtigo to you, peasant.** " The blond man retorted. The dizziness wore off as his attention was drawn to the red-headed speedster, and Superboy launched forward to attack but was knocked down by Black Adam. Aqualad stood up and used his powers to create a bouncing wave of water, knocking down Count Virtigo.

' _Robin, Miss Martain, disappear!_ ' Aqualad ordered through the mind link. You saw what he was doing.

' _You two get the mission done! We'll keep these freaks busy._ ' You said. You fired shots of fire at Black Adam, but it was difficult to maneuver the flames so that they wouldn't harm Aqualad. You cursed as Black Adam landed a punch on Aqualad, sending him flying. Wolf attacked along with Superboy, but Black Adam threw them off into Artemis and Wally. You gulped as both villains turned to you. Artemis groaned as she tried to get up. Your gaze flickered between the villains.

You had been working on a new move, and the ground was wet enough... Maybe you could try it. You steeled yourself.  _No time like the present!_  You thought, and threw some flames on the ground, generating a ton of steam.

"Holy shit, that worked?!" You accidentally said out loud. Your face paled. "Whoops." You ran into the woods, only narrowly avoiding Virtigo's weird powers. As you ran, you called out in your mind.

' _I got away._ ' You said, ' _I was thinking that, maybe because I've faced Poison Ivy before, I could help? Plus, fire works well against plants._ '

' _What?!_ ' Robin said, ' _When have you faced Ivy?_ ' He sounded incredulous.

' _When I was training with Batman._ ' You replied. Your attention was mainly on making it through the forest as quickly and silently as possible.

' _When did you train with Batman?!_ ' He exclaimed.

' _Doesn't matter._ ' You caught a glimpse of yellow pass through the trees. ' _Oh! Wait, step back like 15 paces? I think I see you!_ ' You ran towards them and accidentally ran directly into Robin.

' _Hey! I was right!_ ' You said, extending a hand to help him up.

' _Sure._ ' He grumbled. You grinned. You walked towards the large glowing building.

' _I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others._ ' Miss Martain said, ' _Should we-_ '

' _Sorry, that's not the gig._ ' Robin cut her off.

' _This is._ ' You smirked and drew back the foliage in front of you to reveal the large dome with a plant spiraling towards the sky. ' _The Injustice League central control system._ '

' _Looks like the plant is acting as an antenna for the other plants._ ' Robin said.

" **Well hello...** " A seductive voice purred from the left of you. You whipped around to see Poison Ivy with her hands raised. Vines surged up from the ground to encase your upper body. You struggled as Ultrahumanite dropped down and aimed his gun at the three of you. " **And goodbye.** "

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 10**

_Alright so I'm like insanely sorry for that short hiatus thingy, I had AP testing, and then i went on a biking trip, and I told my wattpad users but completely forgot about AO3 and y'all have been so supportive so thank you so much <3_

_anyways this is a 2 part thing, and most of the next chapter is written so i'll upload it tomorrow_

_im thinking maybe just write like 5 chapters and just upload them when I get done instead of waiting for the next saturday, just to make up for me being real shitty_

_oh and my batman is pretty ooc Idk why_

_so um_

_yeah_

_~Maddy_


	11. Control

_" **Well hello...** " A seductive voice purred from the left of you. You whipped around to see Poison Ivy with her hands raised. Vines surged up from the ground to encase your upper body. You struggled as Ultrahumanite dropped down and aimed his gun at the three of you. " **And goodbye.** "  
_

Just as the ape was about to shoot, Miss Martain's eyes glowed green, and instead of piercing flesh, the bullets shot through the vines encasing Robin and her, freeing them. You lit up the outside of your body with flames, burning the vines away. Ivy groaned.

" **Sorry, Boy Wonder. Icarus.** " She poured honey over her words, " **I'm putting an end to your little... Reconnaissance mission.** " More vines burst out of the ground, whipping towards you.

' _Do your thing, Bird Boy!_ ' You shouted into the link, ' _I'll distract her._ '

' _Roger._ ' He ran off, and you shot balls of fire towards Ivy, throwing her off balance.

"Guess it's just you and me now, plant bitch." You snarled. Ivy smirked.

" **Indeed it is. Such vulgar language from such a pretty girl. It's such a shame I haven't been able to see you as often, my dear. I've missed you.** " You rolled your eyes.

"Look, just because you became obsessed with me while I was training in Gotham doesn't mean I like you any more." You said, vines wrapped around your arms, and you burned them off. You stalked towards her, focusing the heat on your hands. A vine wrapped around your boot and pulled it into the mud. Try as you might, you couldn't get it unstuck. You groaned.

"Goddamn it woman, really?" You grumbled. Vines waved around you as Ivy smirked.

" **I know you won't get your socks wet. I want to see you fly again. That's always fun, isn't it?** " She sighed, " **Playing with you is always fun.** "

 _This is going to take way too much energy, but whatever._ You directed the heat to your feet and pulled your foot out of your boot with a sucking noise. You rose up into the air, and Ivy clapped.

"You know, I  _really_  don't like you." You snarled. Vines whipped towards you, multitudes at a time. You dodged and burned most of them, but occasionally one or two would cut through the fabric of your suit and your skin. Ivy giggle like a small child. Suddenly, the rest of the team crashed down beside you. Ivy drew her attention away from you, and you took the opportunity to shoot flames at the vines attacking Aqualad and Artemis. They both reached for their tools.

"I feel naked," Artemis said when she realized her bow wasn't on her back, "And not in a fun way."

"We will make our own fun, as we have been trained," Aqualad said, "Maneuver 7!" Artemis ran towards him, and he launched her by lifting her foot up. She soared above the vines, kicking Ivy in the face.

"Nice shot!" You said from above Artemis. She looked up.

"Icarus, where's your shoe?" She asked. You groaned.

"Somewhere in the mud. Ivy'll probably keep it as some sort of souvenir." You said, "That woman is scarily obsessed with me. Duck!" Artemis crouched down, and you shot at Ivy as she started to stand up.

" **Where are Robin and the Martain?** " Virtigo snarled, and Ivy gasped.

" **My baby!** " She said. You looked over at the large plant and saw blinking lights all over it. It exploded and collapsed, flames sprouting all over it.

"Timber," Robin said. He and Miss Martain were standing on top of the shattered dome. Ivy growled and shot more gigantic vines at the two of them, but Miss Martain destroyed them.

Suddenly, she got knocked out of the sky by a blast from Atomic Skull. The fight began.

You squared up to Wotan. That was the first mistake.

" **Puny Girl.** " He sneered. You signed his cape, and he retaliated by knocking you down with a blast of lightning. You stood up and lifted a couple feet into the air. Fatigue overwhelmed you, but the adrenaline kept you going.

You shot a couple more weak shots of fire, but Wotan brushed them off as if they were nothing.

" **Enough!** " He yelled and rose into the air. Several constant bolts of lightning flew from his hands, hitting each member of your team, including yourself. You cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

"Plan B." You hear Aqualad say.

The lightning stopped after a few seconds.

" **The helmet of fate!** " You heard Wotan say, and you struggled to your feet.

"No Aqualad, don't!" Wally cried out. Black Adam sent him flying, and he grunted in pain as he hit a tree.

"KF!" You said. You tried to take a step forward but was unaware of the vine that had stealthily wrapped its way around your foot. Pain shot through your ankle as you fell down. Your concentration wavered, and flames ran over your body, burning the vines away. You pushed most of the pain aside in your brain, though it would occasionally throb and overwhelm you.

You flew up in the air again, ignoring the fight between Dr. Fate and Wotan. Your focus was on Ivy.

" **I can't see you, martian, but maybe I can hear you scream...** " She said.

" **And perhaps I can be of some assistance,** " Virtigo said. Miss Martian suddenly cried out and fell from the air. You took the opportunity to distract Virtigo with fire as Artemis ran up. She kicked him in the face and knocked him into Ivy.

"Nice hit." You said to Artemis. She smirked and ran to where Kid Flash was. You flew over to Miss Martian and transferred most of the heat to your back. You extended your hand and she took it gratefully.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem." You replied. She flew towards where the others were fighting. You let the flames cover your body again, and flew after her.

As you flew, you saw that members of the Justice League had arrived.

"About damn time," You joked.

They encircle the Injustice League.

"It's over," Batman said. The villains sneered and put their hands up.

"There will be another day," Virtigo said.

"Another day? Another day!" Joker snarled, "There won't be another day! Not for any of us!" He laughed crazily and raised his hands, wiggling his fingers. Vines rose from the ground, and pods formed and broke open, emitting green gas.

"Joker venom spores! Don't breathe!" Batman shouted. He rushed forward and punched Joker in the face, knocking him out. All you could do was watch as the gas spread.

Suddenly, Dr. Fate rose up and his insignia shown through the night sky. It sucked up all of the gas.

"Fear not. Fate has intervened." Fate shouted, his voice ringing. As he gently floated back down to the ground, Kid Flash limped forward.

"What were you thinking?" He said, "How could you let him put on the helmet? Nabu will never release him now. Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever." It was silent for a few moments until Fate reached up and unexpectedly pulled off the helmet.

"Nabu let you go?" Kid Flash whispered. Aqualad looked just as surprised as Wally was.

"He almost did not," He said, "but your friend Kent was most helpful. He says hello." Kid Flash smiled.

"We're done here." Batman said, "The supervillain secret society has been neutralized. As for your performance, it was satisfactory."

You grinned.

"Uh, Icarus?" You heard Artemis say, "You can turn off your fire now."

You blinked, before realizing that flames still ran across your body, and you were still flying. You landed, and the intense pain of your broken ankle overwhelmed your senses. You cursed. You tried to concentrate, to put out the flames so you could get help, but the throbbing pain kept throwing you off.

"Icarus." Batman said, "Concentrate. Remember your training."

"I'm trying to, I- AH!" You fell to your knees, screaming as sharp pains shot through your brain. The flames roared around you.

"Everyone get back!" Batman shouted. He knew exactly what was happening.

"W-what's going on?" Conner asked. He was frightened for you.

Wally's eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"Oh, no..." He said.

Batman started barking orders. "Miss Martain, call over the bioship. Green Lantern, I need a barrier. Superman, a burn wall. Make sure nothing inside the barrier can catch on fire. Someone else, grab a blanket, and then clear out!"

The flames coursing over your body grew hotter and hotter, the color changing from orange to yellow to white and finally to blue. Your suit started slowly turning to ash, the intense heat searing away the protective fireproofing. Your screams and sobs echoed throughout the forest. Wally ushered everyone away.

The grass inside the circular barrier Green Lantern had made burned away, and the dirt turned dry and brittle. The heat on the inside increased exponentially.

After a few minutes of intense pain, everyone except Batman and Green Lantern was gone. The fires suddenly went out, and you fell to the ground, shivering. All of your clothes, including your mask, were gone, burned away. You tried to stand up, but you were too weak to even raise yourself into a sitting position. You shivered and curled up into a ball.

The barrier fell, and Batman took off his cowl as he walked up to you. He lay a blanket around your shoulders and helped you sit up.

"T-thanks, Bruce." You said weakly, "S-sorry about this."

"(Y/N), it's okay." He said, "I'm glad you held out as long as you did. From what I've gathered from your teammates, you held your own against Ivy, even with what looks like a broken ankle. I'm proud of you." You looked at him strangely.

"Are you okay, Bruce? You never compliment me." You said. Your eyes got blurry, and you almost fell over again. He cleared his throat.

"I'm going to take you to the manor. I'll notify your parents. You'll be staying the night." He said. You just nodded weakly. He picked you up bridal style, wrapped in the blanket. Fatigue overwhelmed you, and you closed your eyes.

**~~**

You woke up groggily in the Batcave. After a few seconds of looking around, you determined you were alone. Your ankle was in a splint, and you had baggy clothes on. You sighed and used the crutches resting on the side of the bed you were on to move around. After training in here for months, you knew how to get in and out. Going up the stairs to the elevator was more difficult than expected.

When the doors opened, you made your way down to the kitchen. You saw Alfred in there making food.

"Thank god, Alfred. Coffee. Two shots. Stat. Please?" You tiredly sat down on a bar stool.

"What is wrong, Miss (Y/N)?" Alfred asked you as he poured a fresh pot.

"Lost control again. I need fuel." You mumbled, face down on the counter.

"I see. And I'm assuming Master Bruce took you here? I believe everyone was on another mission to save the world." Alfred said, handing you a mug. You took it gratefully.

"Thanks. And yeah, you're right." You said. You took a sip. "God that's good. Wait. If I'm staying here... Oh god, what am I gonna tell Dick? He has no clue!"

"I believe that Master Bruce has told Master Dick that you came over to see him, and fell down the stairs," Alfred said. His voice was humorous.

"You're laughing at me, aren't you?" You said.

"Who, me?" He replied.

"Yeah, you're totally laughing at me." You chuckled and took another sip of coffee. "Yeah, Dick'll totally believe that. I'm usually really clumsy." You finished the coffee and yawned.

"I suggest you take a nap," Alfred said. You shrugged.

"I might. I've just gotta wait until the coffee kicks in, and then I'm golden." You said. Your eyes widened, "Oh, shi- uh, shoot, I've got homework!"

"Language, Miss (Y/N). And your homework is in Master Dick's room. Your brother brought it over. Would you like some help getting there?" He said. You gaze flicked from the crutches to your ankle to the flight of stairs.

"Yes please."

He helped you to Dick's room and gently sat you down on his bed.

"Thanks, Alfred." You said. At that moment, Dick walked in from the hallway.

"Oh, (Y/N)!" He said as Alfred left. "What happened?"

"Oh, u-uh," You stuttered, trying to remember the fake story that Alfred said Bruce told Dick, "I uh, fell down the stairs!" His head tilted to the side,

"The stairs here? Those injuries seem far more severe than what could happen..." He said. Your face paled.

"Oh, well, um, it was a really long flight of stairs, the, uh, the ones in the ballroom? Yeah, and uh, I was way too off balance, and-" Your gaze tried to find anything to veer the course of the subject, "Oh, Alfred was right, Wally  _did_  bring my homework. Hey, do you think you could help me?" Dick blinked a couple times.

"Uh, sure?" He said incredulously, "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'll help you when I get out, okay?" You nodded.

**~~**

Dick walked out of the bathroom with wet hair and a toothbrush in his mouth. He glanced down and saw you on his bed, asleep. Your hair was wreathed around you, and a math textbook was open beside you.

"(Y/N)..." He murmured, sitting across from you on the bed. He ran his finger down your face. His gaze trailed down your body, taking in all of the cuts and bruises that littered your exposed skin. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"What are you hiding from me?"

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 11**


	12. Doubts

Dick gently shook you awake.

“(Y/N), wake up,” He said. You groaned and rolled away from him. He laughed.

“C’mon, you gotta get up, dinner’s ready.” He said. You frowned.

“Don’t wanna,” You grumbled. Dick rolled his eyes.

“Fine, do what you want,” He said and walked to the door, “But you’re gonna miss Alfred’s spaghetti!” You sat up with a start.

“Spaghetti?!” You exclaimed and Dick nodded. You got up in a flash, grabbing the crutches and hobbling after Dick. “C’mon, you dumb-dumb, wait for me!” You said as you struggled going down the stairs as fast as possible. In your hurry, you missed a step and fell forward. You closed your eyes and braced for the impact.

It never came.

You looked up at Dick grinning down at you. He had caught you.

“You know, you are really the clumsiest person I know.” He said. You stuck your tongue out at him, making him chuckle.

“I appreciate you catching me, dear, but could you please put me down?” You said snidely, “I really want that spaghetti.” He laughed, set you down, and handed you the crutches. You sped down the hallway to the dining room and sat down at the table, with Bruce, who was at the head of the table, to your right. Dick sat down across from you, Bruce to his left.

Alfred put plates of spaghetti down on the table, and you thanked him before digging in hungrily. You looked up after stuffing your face to see Dick looking at you strangely.

“What?!” You said after you swallowed, “I lose a lot of much-needed food-energy when I-” Bruce cut you off with a raised eyebrow.

“When I, uh, run. I ran. A lot. Today.” You said choppily. Dick raised his eyebrows. You wanted to drown yourself in pasta.

Tension wavered in the air.

Bruce cut through it by saying, “(Y/N), I need you down in the cave once you’re done eating.” You groaned and rolled your eyes.

“Fine,” You grumbled, looked around, and resumed eating like a starved animal.

Dick watched you, his mind whirling.

What were you going to say?

Why did Bruce need you in the cave?

What was going on with you that he didn’t know?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts after deciding to follow you into the cave.

You stopped eating again when you realized that both Dick and Bruce were staring at you strangely. 

"What?" You said with your mouth full, only it sounded more like 'wht'. Dick burst out laughing. You glared at him and swallowed.

"Oi!" You picked up your fork and flung a wad of spaghetti at him. His laughter abruptly cut off as it hit him in the forehead. 

"You little  _fucker!_ " He shouted. You cackled.

"Language, Dick," Bruce said calmly.

"Oh, it's payback time," Dick said evilly. He smirked and flung a portion of his own spaghetti at you. It landed on your chest and you glared, offended.

"It's on." You growled. You flung spaghetti back. It hit his stomach.

Fling. Face.

Fling. Arm.

Fling...  _Smack._  

All movement ceased as the spaghetti slowly fell from the side of Bruce's face.

"Oh god, Bruce, I'm so sorry, I-" Dick's apologies were cut off by another clump of spaghetti. Your mouth dropped open. Bruce smirked, and put down his fork.

"You messed with the wrong bat, Dick." He said menacingly. You started laughing but quickly cut yourself off as he aimed another forkful at you.

"Sorry Bruce, please don't hurt me!" You said quickly and drew your napkin up to your face. Bruce just chuckled. 

****~~** **

Food coated everything. Like, literally  _everything_. The walls, the floors, the table. Even Alfred had gotten involved. Everyone was covered, head to toe. You were panting hard with a smile on your face. 

"Now that  _all_  of the food is gone, are we good?" You panted, "I feel gross." Dick laughed.

"You know, you started it." He said. You fake gasped.

"Who, me?" You put a hand to your forehead in a dramatic way, "I would never!" Bruce let out a soft chuckle.

"In all seriousness though, I'm going to take a shower." You said. You stood up and promptly fell over. "Right, broken ankle." You looked at Dick from the corner of your eye. He rolled his eyes and walked over to you.

"Do you need help?" He said.

"You know, I just might." You said snarkily. Dick scoffed and picked you up.

As he carried you up the stairs, you picked strings of spaghetti out of his hair.

"What the-?!" You pulled one out from between his shirt and his back. "How the hell did this get here?!" Dick looked at you.

"You got food all over me, babe." He smirked. You flushed and stuck the spaghetti on his upper lip.

"There. Now you have a spaghetti mustache!" You said. "Hm... Mustache... Spaghetti... Mustetti? Nah, that doesn't work... Uh..." Dick laughed and rubbed his face on yours, transferring the spaghetti mustache to you. You went crosseyed looking at it, making Dick laugh harder.

****~~** **

After the shower, you hobbled down the stairs and to the cave.

Dick walked slowly after you.

Once he stood near the catwalk at the beginning of the cave, he stopped. He knew you wouldn’t be able to tell he was there, but Bruce definitely would if he made any noise.

“I believe you know why you’re here?” Bruce said. You groaned.

“Yes, yes,” You said, “We do this every time I lose control. I know the drill.”

Dick’s eyebrows lowered, _she loses control? Over what? Every time? Does that mean it happens often?_ He thought. Dick watched as you drew up your shirt so that Bruce could place a couple of sticky pads on your stomach and back.

Bruce instructed you to do a couple of exercises, and you did them with an air of having already done them a thousand times.

“Good,” Bruce said once you were finished. His head moved towards where Dick was watching, and Dick hid quickly.

There was a moment of silence.

“Bruce?” You asked. Bruce coughed.

“Right hand first.” He said.

“Right?” You said, “But it’s always been left hand first.” Dick could imagine Bruce rolling his eyes.

“Fine, left hand first,” Bruce said. Something about the air near Dick changed, becoming… Warmer? It was too little of a change to actually make certain. The lighting changed a little too, becoming just the littlest bit brighter.

“Switch to the right hand,” Bruce said. The lighting moved just a bit.

“Both hands.” The lighting got brighter again.

“Right leg.”

“Left leg.”

“Both legs.”

The lighting kept changing with every command.

“Full body.” The room lit up brightly, and the air definitely went up a few degrees.

“Alright, go up about 5 feet.”

“Bruce, do we really need to do all of this?” You asked, a slight strain in your voice.

“All of it.” Bruce responded, “Your powers are new to us, and we need to make sure they don’t hurt you.”

Dick’s face went white, and the rest of the conversation was blocked out by the ringing in his ears.

Powers? You had powers?

His mind reeled, connecting dots he had never even thought of before.

The warehouse, the mental exercise, the ankle, the absences, the-

Dick ran out of the cave before he had a complete mental breakdown. He stumbled into Alfred, who caught him.

“Are you alright, Master Dick?” Alfred asked. Dick swallowed.

“I’m going to go to bed.” He said, “Tell (Y/N) … Tell her that I’m sorry I could stay up.”

“Of course,” Alfred said. Dick nodded and walked up the stairs.

He sat on his bed with his head in his hands for a while before chuckling wryly.

“God, what am I doing?” He laid back and stared up at the ceiling. “She’d say, ‘c’mon, Dick, you’re too young to have an existential crisis, get your head out of your ass and get going.’” 

****~~~~~** **

****End Chapter 12** **

_Wow uh this suck balls. It was super short too._

_But thank you guys so much for your support, it's really appreciated!_

_Chapter 13: Humanity, which is the next actual episode, is a WIP! It'll be ready soon. Sorry for all of the delays, and thanks for sticking with me!_

_~Maddy_


	13. Humanity

You ducked the punch Superboy threw at you. Hopping back a few steps, you tried to get out of range of his actions, but he lept at you, knocking you down. You groaned.

Connor lent you an outstretched hand with a smirk, and you took it gratefully.

"Good work everyone," Black Canary said, "In fact, it's been a very productive week."

"Yeah," You scoffed "For everyone except kid malingerer here,"

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed, "Unlike your ankle, my arm was actually broken, not just sprained!" You rolled your eyes. Black Canary chuckled.

"I've really enjoyed being your, ah, den mother this week," She said. Suddenly, the Zeta Tubes started up.

"Recognized, Zatara 11." The electronic voice announced, and Zatara walked into the room. He typed a few things onto his keyboard before the tube lit up again.

"Access granted," The computer said, "Zatanna, Zatara, A03, authorization, Zatara 11." A girl who looked a little bit older than you walked into the room.

"Zatanna, this the team," Zatara said, "Team, my daughter, Zatanna." M'gann smiled and floated over to her.

"Hi, I'm-" M'gann started, but Robin cut her off.

"Robin!" He coughed, "I mean,  _I'm_  Robin. She's Megan, and that's Wally, Icarus, Artemis, Kaldur, and Connor." A curdling feeling rose up in your gut at his excitement.

"Welcome to the cave," You said softly.

"Thanks," She replied just as softly.

"So, I- uh- a- are you joining the team?" Robin said. The feeling grew stronger. You took a deep breath and sighed.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara said quickly, "This is strictly a visit. Though I  _am_  sorry we missed the training. It's something from which Zatanna could benefit." He turned to Black Canary.

' _Do the rest of you get the impression we're still on probation with Zatara?_ ' M'gann's eyebrows lowered and she turned to the rest of the team.

' _Not just Zatara, I mean, why is Marvel still hanging around?_ ' Connor gestured in the direction of the kitchen. Wally's mouth fell open,

' _Uh, because we_ _like_ _having him around?_ ' He smirked.

' _You like having him around because he waits on you hand-and-foot,_ ' You rolled your eyes.

' _And your point is???_ ' Wally raised his eyebrows.

' _It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's tenure as our supervisor,_ ' Kaldur crossed his arms.

' _Yeah, at least he trusted us,_ ' Robin looked towards the adults.

' _If you ignore the fact that he was a traitor,_ ' Connor threw up his arms, ' _That machine almost got M- all of us killed!_ '

"Are you guys having a psychic conversation?" Zatanna cut in verbally, causing everyone to look at her, "Because I can't decide if that's cool? Or really rude." You looked over at the adults and sighed.

"Okay," You said, "We were talking about RT."

"It's been weeks since his attack, and the league hasn't told us anything!" Connor added emphatically. You saw Zatanna notice Wolf and walk over to him. You smiled and followed her. Wolf lifted his head and licked your face.

"The league is searching for Tornado," Black Canary said, "As well as the other androids that invaded the cave,  _and_ their creator, T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

"But you found none of the above!" Robin exclaimed.

"Not yet," Black Canary said coldly, "But Tornado is Justice League. The team is  _not_  to pursue this."

"Why don't you take Zatanna on a... Uh, tour, of the cave?" Zatara looked around, trying to find her. You almost laughed at how Robin jumped into a fighting stance once he realized that Zatanna wasn't beside him anymore. Zatanna stood up as Marvel flew in.

"Oh, cool!" Marvel said, "You're giving a tour? Cool!"

"Actually," Connor said, walking over to him, "I was hoping you could take Wolf outside, he needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few." You chuckled as Wolf drooled over the plate of nachos in Marvel's hand.

"Oh, sure, sure!" Marvel said, "I can do that!" You chuckled again as he walked away,  _he really acts like a little kid sometimes._

"Uh- ah- wha- my nachos!" Wally said, only to be yanks towards the kitchen by Connor. You stuck your tongue out at him as you passed him.

Once you got to the living area, Zatanna walked up to Robin.

Robin's mouth fell open once he realized that her clothes were different.

"When did you-?" He stuttered, " _How_  did you?!"

"Poor, poor, Robin," You teased, "He doesn't understand magic."

"We're not  _really_  taking a tour, are we?" Zatanna said.

"No." Connor said gruffly, "We're hunting down that robot." He looked to Kaldur for approval.

"Yes," Kaldur said, "We are."

"Oh," Zatanna said, "Out loud and everything."

"What about..." You paused, "New girl?"

"I'm sure she won't tell," Robin said quickly. The curdling feeling rose again, accompanied by a pain in your chest.

"I can't tell," Zatanna said slyly, "Not if you  _kidnap_  me." The feelings in your chest were conflicted by the thought that she was actually really cool.

"Oh, she's going to fit in great," Artemis said. You nodded hesitantly.

The team walked to the hangar, and you stayed in the back. You didn't like feeling this way. Zatanna was cool, you shouldn't dislike her for such an irrational reason as Robin liking her...

You walked into the bioship, to see that Zatanna was sitting at the front, next to Robin and Artemis.

"That's my..." You said quietly before sighing, "Never mind. I'll just be... here." You sat in the empty spot behind Wally.

Once you were up in the air, Black Canary called you all over the intercom.

"M'gann, the bioship was not authorized for departure." She said slowly.

"We're kidnapping Zatanna!" M'gann said excitedly. "...To show her happy harbor! Be back soon!"

"Roger that." Black Canary laughed, "Have fun."

You drew your legs up to your chest and watched Robin and Zatanna talk.

Unwanted thoughts filtered through your head and you closed your eyes.

_Of course, he's interested in her._

_She's cute, funny... Better than me..._

_Plus, he must think that (Y/N) could never know, because she's not here!_

The tightness in your chest grew as your thought got darker. You didn't notice M'gann and Wally's worried looks.

After a couple of minutes, you were cut off from the inside of your head by Robin suddenly talking.

"Where are we going?" He said, "Batman is the world's greatest detective, and he's searched for Tornado and Morrow in every logical location. If we're gonna do better, we need an illogical solution."

You smirked.

"A truly dumb idea." You added and looked at Wally. The rest of the team joined you. Wally raised an eyebrow.

"As a matter of fact..." He smirked.

**~~**

You leaned back against the wall of the interrogation room of Belle Reve. Ivo sat at the table in front of the team.

"Warden Strange owed us a favor for stopping last month's prison break," M'gann said, "He's given us five minutes with you."

"Spill Ivo," Connor said forcefully, "Where are T.O. Morrow and his Reds?"

"Now, why in the world would I know how to find Morrow?" Ivo said saucily,

"Because," Wally said, "And here's a truly dumb idea, you're Morrow's biggest competitor in the evil android game."

"Who better to keep track of what he's up to, and where?" You finished for him and shared a fist bump.

"Ah." Ivo said, "I see your point. So let me rephrase,  _why_ in the world would I tell you how to find morrow?"

"He knows." Kaldur said, "Do what you must." M'gann nodded, and her eyes lit up. Ivo laughed.

"Oh, please." He said, "As if I've never faced a telepath before." Zatanna smirked and walked up to him. She said a few words backward, and Ivo's eyes went wide.

"Morrow's in a secret underground base beneath Yellowstone National Park, 100 meters south of Old Faithful," He babbled before stopping and gasping. Everyone's eyebrows rose. "W-wait! What just happened!?"

**~~**

You sat in the back of the ship again as the team flew to Wyoming.

"Block out all external communications." Kaldur said, "Soon, Canary and Zatara... Batman, too, I imagine will know of our visit with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."

"Look." Robin said, "I'm trying to be all nonchalant here..."

"Why?" Zatanna said, "Be as chalant as you like." You laughed and spoke up

"I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers." You said.

"Could you teleport us to Tornado, or Morrow to a cell, or force his bots to surrender? " Artemis said.

"Or create peace on earth for all time?" Zatanna said, "Zatara couldn't even do all that, and I'm nowhere near on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold, or else have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy, which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will." You nodded.

"What's our E.T.A. to Yellowstone?" Connor growled, "I'm  _way_  past ready to stuff Tornado into a trash compactor."

"Are you so certain he betrayed us?" Kaldur said

"Aren't you?" Connor snapped,

"I am not convinced," Kaldur replied.

"And even if he was," You added, "The only way he could is if his creator coded him to. He deserves a chance to prove he's more than the weapon others designed him to be."

Connor sighed and sat back.

**~~**

Several hours later, the ship set down.

"Stealth mode," Kaldur said, touching his belt. You touched the clasp on your cape, turning your clothes gray and muted.

"I recommend you stay behind," Kaldur said to Zatanna by the door.

"Is that an order?" She replied.

"No." Kaldur said, "You must do as you see fit."

"Good." She smiled and said a few words backward, her civies changing to an outfit much like her father's. You ran out of the ship past them.

Robin stopped behind a log and pulled up his wrist computer.

"Ivo was right." He said, "Something's down there." Kaldur nodded and ran past him. You followed close behind. Suddenly, wind sprang up, blowing everyone back. You looked up to see Red Tornado flying above everyone. He raised his hands, and his signature red tornados rose up in a circle around you all.

"Why, Tornado?" Miss Martian yelled, "Why are you doing this?" ' _Message received?_ ' She added mentally. You nodded along with everyone.

"Who cares why?" Superboy yelled, "Nail him!" You flew up towards M'gann, and she nodded.

"Superboy!" Aqualad yelled, running after him, "Maneuver 7!" Superboy spun around and lifted Aqualad into the air. Aqualad flew towards Red Tornado, only to be smacked down to earth, into Superboy.

Robin and Artemis ran up, and she shot a couple of arrows at Tornado, only to have them blown back at her.

"Look out!" Robin said. The arrows exploded, knocking them back.

"That does it, Red." Kid Flash shouted, "You're not the only spin doctor around here!" He started spinning in a circle, and a black tornado rose up around him. M'gann and you launched yourselves at Red Tornado from behind, only to have both of your hands caught. He launched the two of you at Kid Flash's tornado, knocking all three of you down. You stayed down, keeping a careful eye on the fight.

Zatanna tried to come up with a spell, but Red Tornado grabbed her throat, and she collapsed. Every member was down.

"Quite a performance, brother, but we both know that's all it was." A new robot, bulkier with red-orange veins running up and down his body, rose on a pillar of earth to match Tornado's height, "I have all your memories, Tornado, plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do." He raised his arms, and the earth rumbled. A large portion of rock rose up with the words 'Play Dead' clearly written on it. The team rose up.

"Blowing a message into the sand?" He said angrily. The rock crumbled and large chunks rained down. You shot large bursts of fire at the ones flying towards you.

' _Zatanna?_ ' You heard Robin. You had almost forgotten about this.

' _I'm good._   _But Red Tornado's getting away._ ' Zatanna replied.

' _Is he abandoning us?_ ' Artemis drew back an arrow,

' _I don't believe that._ ' You thought and flew towards the new robot.

"You stand no chance against me, humans." He stated, knocking Wally over.

"We're not human!" Superboy and Miss Martain shouted together.

"Apologies." The robot said, "I suppose the properly inclusive term is Meatbags." Hands rose up from the ground and smacked the three of you back down before crumbling on top of you. You growled, your anger at both Robin and the robot giving you a new spurt of energy to allow flames to ripple across your body. You shot white hot bars of flame at the robot, only to have them blocked off by rising walls of earth.

"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move." He growled.

Zatanna said something, and a blindfold rose over the robot's eyes.

"Tornado never knew my moves." She said.

"And I bet you've got some good ones." Robin flirted. Your eyes widened and the flames roared higher around you.

"Whoa, sorry." Robin chuckled, "That may have come off a little too Wally."

"I don't mind," Zatanna replied.

"I do." You muttered, and the tightness in your chest tripled.

' _Icarus, I know, but calm down._ ' Kid Flash soothed, ' _He doesn't know._ '

' _That's the problem!_ ' You growled. You stalked towards the robot and shot lots of hotter flames at him.

' _Who doesn't know wh-_ ' Robin started,

' _Shut UP!_ ' Both you and Kid Flash cut him off as red lasers shot from the robot's eyes, and the Volcano erupted behind him. Kid Flash ran towards the robot and got knocked aside.

' _He's activating a stage 2 eruption_.' Kid Flash thought, ' _It gets to stage 3, kiss the hemisphere good-bye._ '

' _Hit him from all sides._ ' Aqualad said. Superboy rushed in from the front and M'gann from the back. The Robot got pulled backward, but a spire of lava shot up behind her.

"M'gann!" Superboy shouted.

Zatanna placed her hand on Kid Flash's back and shouted backward. The plumes of smoke rising turned into a bunch of Kid Flashes, and they all rushed the robot.

"I-I use a scaled-down version when I want to sneak out of the house!" Zatanna said. The real Kid Flash grabbed Miss Martian from the robot's grasp. Another of lava rose up and flew towards the group. You sprinted over to them.

"Get behind me!" You shouted, using your body to block most of the lava from getting to them.

"Holy moly!" Zatanna said, "Does that not hurt?!" You gritted your teeth,

"No, it does. A lot." You groaned, "I'm probably getting third-degree burns, but it would be worse if someone else were to..." You cut off with another groan. Your cape and the cloth on your back burned away, exposing flesh. Suddenly, the lava flow cut off and you dropped to a knee.

"Nice hit!" You hear Robin say. You looked over to see water forcing the new robot into the lava.

"The hit was not mine." Aqualad said, "Look!"

You struggled to your feet and watched the other red robots from before battle the new robot. Pain made your vision go dark for a couple seconds. You closed your eyes. When you opened them again, Red Tornado was lying in front of the team without his legs.

"Tornado, listen!" Kid Flash said, "We're on the verge of a stage 3 super-volcano eruption. There's no turning back from that. We need to vent pressure, fast. But the ash cloud will bring on worldwide nuclear winter unless you divert it." Tornado nodded.

"Triangulate around the pressure locus." Kid Flash said to Robin.

"Right," Robin replied, typing a few things into his wrist computer. "There, there, and there." Artemis shot an arrow, and you collapsed, your vision getting dark again and your balance going wack. Everyone's eyes were on Tornado as he flew upwards.

"Yes!" Wally said once the lava went dark. He turned to tease you but his face fell once he saw you on the ground.

"Icarus!" He said and ran towards you. He put a hand behind your neck to lift you up. You stood up with an arm around his shoulders.

"Hey," You coughed, looking up at him, "We won! Don't look glum." He laughed softly.

"I have a self-sacrificing idiot for a sis-" You cut him off with a weak punch. He half-carried you into the darkness of Morrow's lab with the rest of the team.

"There." Robin said after a few minutes of tweaking with Red Tornado's voice box, "That should do it."

"Yes." Tornado said, "I can speak again."

"You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet." You said, limping up to him.

"The planet would have survived." He replied. "It is humanity that was saved... Though not by me. My sister and brother were the true heroes this day." You nodded.

"My point is this you were never the mole, never a traitor." You said, glaring at everyone around the room. Superboy had the gall to look down sheepishly.

"No." Tornado said, "I left to protect you from further attack and to find my creator, Morrow."

"Cool!" Wally said from across the room, holding up a robotic hand, "Souvenir!"

"Reddy, we can rebuild you! Better than you were before," Robin said.

"Reddy?" You scoffed. The anger flared up again.

"I do not believe I should be repaired." Red Tornado said.

"Why'd you volunteer to become our den mother in the first place?" Superboy said suddenly.

"I was the pragmatic choice." Red Tornado replied, "I do not require sleep. I have no secret identity or second life to live."

"But you do have advanced A.I. programming designed to learn, adapt, evolve." You said.

"Hello, Megan!" M'gann said, "You wanted to become more human."

"And you couldn't do that with the League." Artemis added, "They're stiffs."

"You're sure not going to learn emotion from Batman." Robin said, "Trust me."

"Then the Cave was not a proving ground only for us, but for you as well," Kaldur said.

"I do not know if these statements are accurate, but perhaps they are true." Red Tornado said, "And if I understand the term correctly, I believe I have come to... Care about you all." It was quiet for a moment before Connor said,

"See? Practically a meatbag already."

"Which reminds me..." Red Tornado said.

**~~**

"So, good kidnapping?" Robin said, touching Zatanna's shoulder. Tightness in your chest made you sneer.

"Actually, yeah," Zatanna said. "Best ever."

"First of many, I hope." Robin laughed

"If my dad doesn't ground me for life," Zatanna said. You realized you were staring and glared at the floor.

**~~**

Once you were back in the cave, Zatanna pulled you aside.

"Icarus, are you not okay with me being here?" She said. Your eyes widened, and you gasped.

"Oh, no, Zatanna," You chuckled wryly, "No, I love having you here, and I understand why you would think that. I've been acting like a real asshole to you, and it's not... You, exactly." You sighed. "Robin doesn't know... who I really am, but we're... He's... He's in a relationship?" You said the last part in a whisper.

"Oh." Zatanna's eyes widened, "Oohhhhhh. Gosh, I am  _so_  sorry, he flirted with me, and I just automatically flirted back, oh, god. Will you forgive me?" You laughed.

"Of course," You said, "You didn't know, and didn't do it on purpose." You stuck out your hand, "Friends?"

"Friends." She shook your hand and you grinned.

The two of you walked into the room where the rest of the team was, and Robin jogged up.

"Hey, Zatanna, I-" The words died in his mouth as the two of you gave him a deadly glare. He backed off and walked over to Wally.

"Man, what is  _their_  problem?" Robin said and Wally face-palmed.

**~~~~~~**

**End Chapter 13**

_Maddy? Updating on a Saturday? It's (not really) more likely than you'd think!_

_Hey guys! The chapter's finally out! Hurrah! I wrote most of this in a freezing cold Starbucks, haha._

_Anyways, I've got exciting news!_

_Numero Uno: MY HEELYS CAME!!! (I'm an adult I promise) And I've only fallen down once! I've got a big trip coming up, and I'm really glad they came before I left!_

_And B: I get to write the chapter I've been waiting to write for **ages!**  But first, there's going to be a super fluffy chapter next, and then angst galore! >B) Mwuahahaha_

_Anyways, thank all of you so much for the support and the comments and kudos and just !!!!! 1k reads !!!! What ?!?!?! You all are amazing, I love you so much!_

_~Maddy_


	14. Rain

A couple days later, you walked down the busy Gotham sidewalk in the evening, people running into you and almost knocking you over. The seasons were changing, bringing with it a drop in the temperature. A sharp wind cut through your jacket, but you were strangely toasty warm.

During the summer you were hotter than anyone else, so maybe you just had a really high body temperature?

You looked down, lost in thought. You bumped into a few people, not paying attention to where you were going. You got jostled into accidentally stepping out into traffic, and a biker came barreling towards you.

"Look out!" Someone yelled, and something forced you out of the way. You looked up to see Dick on top of you, having launched himself into you.

Your face flushed at the compromising position, making Dick's eyes widen. He hurriedly stood up. He held out his hand and helped you up.

"Uh, tha-thanks." You stuttered, gripping his hand. He grinned.

"(Y/N), you are the  _clumsiest_  person I know," He said. You rolled your eyes.

"Thanks for the compliment, D," You said sarcastically, "What're you doing downtown?"

"Oh god," He threw his head back and groaned, "Bruce sent me out to get something, and I forgot what it was, and now I'm scared to go back."

"Dick, what the heck?!" You laughed, "Well if you've got time to kill, Wally and I are going to dinner at McAffey's in Keystone. I'm sure he'd be okay if you came?" Dick nodded thoughtfully before pulling out his phone.

**~~**

"Like I said, as long as you're paying," Wally said as the three of you were seated in a booth, with you across from the both of them. Dick laughed.

"I know Wally, don't worry." He said, "I'll be paying. You don't need to worry your pockets." You rolled your eyes and picked up a menu.

"Well, since you've got the bill," Wally smirked, "Maybe I should get the most expensive thing just to spite you!" You kicked his shin without looking up.

"Ow!" He yelped, "(Y/N), that hurt!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," You lied. After a few seconds of silence, the waitress walked up. She had a cute face with minimal make-up, and curves that were making Wally drool. You rolled your eyes and kicked him again. He jumped and glared at you.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" She said, eyeing Dick. "We've got water, soda, lemonade?"

"Just water for me, thanks." You said, frowning. Dick's eyes were respectfully on the waitress' face as he ordered an iced tea.

"Oh baby, I'd just love a tall glass of yo—" Wally started, but Dick cut him off by elbowing him in the side. "Um. Just water for me." You smirked as the waitress nodded and left.

"You guys are harassing me!" He complained, and you laughed.

"Oh no, should we call Safe-To-Tell?" You joked.

"Yes!" Wally exclaimed, "This is elder abuse! I am better than both of you!"

"Oh really?" Dick leaned forwards, "I seem to recall beating your ass to a pulp last night." You snickered. You remembered that. An argument had started over whether pizza or hot-dogs were the best. Bets went around the team over who would win. Both you and Kaldur got a total of $20 from the fight.

"I- Gah!" Wally groaned, "Fine! Whatever!" He shoved his face into the menu, grumbling.

"So, (Y/N), what're you interested in?" Dick said. You hummed, running your finger along the pages.

"I think I'm going to get the grilled chicken." You said, closing the menu. "What about you?"

"The grilled cheese sounds amazing right now." He said. You nodded.

"McAffey's grilled cheeses are amazing." You said. "So, oh ye wisest and eldest elder, what shalt thouest wanteth?" Wally looked up and glared at you.

"I'm just gonna have the usual." He mumbled.

"The usual?" Dick raised an eyebrow. You laughed.

"Oh, you know. Three orders of the largest thing on the menu." You said. Dick cringed.

"I'm starting to regret saying I was going to pay," He said. You grinned.

**~~**

"Are you done with everything, hot-stuff?" The waitress asked. She had been mercilessly flirting with Dick all night, and you were at the end of your fuse. You opened your mouth to tell her off, but Dick put his hand on top of yours.

"Can we get a milkshake? Two straws?" He asked. The waitress's face morphed into a look of disgust and she glared at you. You smirked triumphantly as she stalked away. Dick lifted your hand and kissed it.

"Sorry about letting her go on for so long, love," He murmured, "It's just— Did you see her face?!" He cackled, and you burst into laughter.

"Guys, guys. She was soooo digging me!" Wally said, ignoring your conversation, "Did you see it?" You both fell silent and looked at him, then burst out into laughter again. Tears came out of the sides of your eyes, and you hugged your side.

"Oh my god, Wally, you are  _the_  densest person I know!" Dick said, pounding the table. Wally looked hurt before rolling his eyes.

"At least I'm not all lovey-dovey like you two!" Wally scoffed, "Get your PDA out of here!" You grinned evilly and leaned across the table, tickling him mercilessly.

"No!" He laughed, barely trying to push your hands away. His laughs became hoarser as Dick joined in on the tickle-fest, eventually ending in Wally surging forwards and attacking you. You shouted, drawing the attention of the entire diner. Your face flushed.

"Sorry!" You said loudly as you sat back down. Dick and Wally were still giggling softly as the waitress brought the milkshake. Dick thanked her, and she winked at him. You rolled your eyes.

You put the milkshake in between you and smiled.

"Cheers?" You asked, putting a hand on the glass.

"Cheers," Dick said, putting his hand on top of yours.

You both leaned down to take a sip, accidentally touching foreheads. Dick chuckled and put his hands on your head, keeping it against his. He closed his eyes and smiled.

**~~**

"Alright," Wally said, putting on his jacket, "Be home soon, (Y/N). Don't do anything!" He pointed at his eyes and then at the two of you before speeding away.

You laughed.

"Well, life's never boring when he's around," You joked. Dick nodded.

The two of you walked, hand-in-hand, down the night-time street. Streetlights lit up as the sun set, casting an orange glow over everything. Crickets chirped, and in the distance, you could hear the rumble of the highway.

A few drops of water fell on your head, and you put your palms up, looking at the sky.

"It's raining," You murmured as the rain fell harder.

"Babe, come on!" Dick exclaimed, "You're going to get soaked!" You just smiled and kept your face raised to the sky. You heard him sigh and felt a tap on your shoulder. You opened your eyes to see him sheepishly grinning and holding out a hand.

"I know it's kind of on the spot, and there's no music, but... May I have this dance?" He said. You took his hand and he pulled you in close. The two of you swayed back and forth for a few minutes before Dick started humming.

Your eyes widened as you recognized the song he was humming.

"Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you." You sang softly, and he joined in after a couple seconds.

"Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help, falling in love with you." On every part, he echoed you.

"And I can't help, falling in love with you." Together, again.

In the end, he pulled you close.

"Would you be with me forever?" He whispered.

"Forever is a very long time, Dick Grayson." You murmured back. He pulled away suddenly to look at you.

"(Y/N), listen. I know we're young, and we've got a long way to go, but... You're the only one for me. I love you with all of my heart, and—" You cut him off with a kiss, bringing your hands up to his cheeks. His slid down to your hips, and you stood there for a while, melting into each other.

You pulled away and whispered, "I give you my heart," before kissing him again.

**~~**

You lay in bed with a blanket wrapped around your shoulders and a tissue box next to you. Your little excursion in the rain gave you a cold, but it was worth it. You scrolled through Instagram and saw a picture that Dick had posted.

It was a photo of you and your shared milkshake, but without your face showing.

The caption read;  _The love of my life._

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 14**

_What? Me? Actually updating? Who? Haha sorry._

_I'm actually writing this at midnight on Friday, and I still have to do a couple of things, BUT! I get to sleep in, so this'll probably get uploaded at like noon tomorrow._

_So yeah! I'm excited, Canada was really fun! (I don't think I mentioned that I went there but I did haa) I toured the University of Waterloo, and am now on my way to spend a week with my family in Michigan! so yeah, fun times_

_IM EXCITED, THE PART'S COMING UP!!! >:)))_

_oh yeah, and I screwed up my fingers from falling on my Heelys :)_

_~M_ _addy_

_Pre-post edit: I also made a Spotify playlist of the songs that inspired this:  https://open.spotify.com/user/4ijv0dnuyctv6rqwf2kabdmcq/playlist/2qEMfYmzPRg1PJ31SNR7O9?si=28_apES6T6y7A-0hsm0Kpw_


	15. Failsafe Part 1

You stood with the team watching the screen as heroes got destroyed one after another.

Another screen popped up.

“Tornado…” Zatara said, “Did you…”

“Yes, Zatara,” Red Tornado responded, “We saw. Celestial Defenses have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures.”

“Affirmative,” Zatara said, “See you in the field.” The screen disappeared.

“I must join the league,” Red Tornado said, turning to the team “We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you.”

“We stand ready,” Kaldur said.

Tornado flew out of the cave. You walked over to the screen and pulled up the news.

“This is Iris West-Allen reporting live. The extraterrestrials have brought their relentless attack to Central City.” Iris said. The arch behind her got blasted and exploded. She flinched. Two large alien ships came towards the camera, destroying groups of people in their wake. Iris suddenly got zoomed away. The camera panned around, looking for her. The ships came close to the camera. Chanting was heard, and a golden sheen covered the screen, before disappearing as soon as it came.

Once it went away, Iris, Zatara, The Flash, and the cameraman were on top of a rooftop.

“You should both be safe here.” Zatara said, “At least for now.”

“Thank you… Flash.” Iris said, “And Zatara.” Both of the heroes left, and Iris watched them before turning back to the camera.

“Denny, you okay?” She asked, and the camera-man gave a thumbs-up. “As you can see, the Justice league is attempting to hold the line.” The camera followed Zatara and Flash as they went to a roof-top full of people. It seemed as if they were going to be okay, but a ship showed up from seemingly nowhere and blasted the rooftop.

“No…” Iris whispered.

Dick watched out of the corner of his eye as you flinched. Wally put his hand on your shoulder.

“Icarus…” He said quietly. You shrugged him off.

“I know, I know, it’s still just kind of jarring.” You mumbled.

Looking back to the screen, you saw Cat Grant speaking.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve lost Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Hawks.” She said, “Other heroes reported dead or missing include Batman, Icon, Atom, and Aquaman.”

You watched as the mothership settled over Smallville. A signal came in.

“Red Tornado to cave. I fear I am all that remains of the league.”

“RT!” Robin exclaimed as the signal cut off.

“We are earth’s heroes now,” Kaldur said.

“So what are we waiting for, a theme song?” Conner said after a moment of silence.

“A strategy,” Kaldur said.

“Our weapons don’t work on these baddies, and obviously a direct attack won’t work.” You put in.

“Checking satellite imagery…” Robin said, pulling up a map, “Here’s where the aliens are.”

“This one get lost?” Conner pointed to a red dot far away from the others.

“That’s Superman’s fortress of solitude!” Robin said.

“Superman has a fortress of solitude?!” Conner exclaimed.

“It’s power source must have attracted the alien's attention.” You muttered, “At least enough to send a scout ship.”

“Must be some fortress,” Conner grumbled and turned away.

“Conner…” M’gann said.

“No, it’s okay.” He sighed, “I suppose there’s a lot about Superman I’ll never know. Uh, you know, now.”

“We will target this lone ship,” Kaldur said

“Yeah!” Wally said, “Break it down, build more. Hit those ugly aliens with their own mojo— Ow!”

You snickered as Artemis elbowed Wally.

“Martian and Kryptonian in the house!” She said. M’gann and Conner looked at Wally expectantly.

“Uh, heh, not that _all_ aliens are automatically ugly,” Wally stuttered.

“Smooth.” You laughed.

**~~**

You hid behind a large pile of snow. Your winter stealth outfit was the same as your normal suit, but white. Everyone was really startled when they realized you were basically going to one of the coldest places in overalls.

You just shrugged. After the warehouse incident, you’ve just never gotten cold.

‘ _Communications disabled._ ’ Miss Martian’s voice rang inside of your head. ‘ _Propulsion disabled._ ’ Artemis shot an arrow and a thick foam coated what seemed to be the entrance.

The ship shot randomly, trying to determine her location.

‘ _And ETs are sealed inside._ ’ Artemis said.

Aqualad burst out from the ice, trapping the ship.

The ship’s weapon trained on Aqualad, aiming to kill. Wolf burst out of nowhere and knocked the barrel of the gun off course. Superboy leaped up and held the gun in place, allowing everyone else to run up. You stood on the ship next to Robin, looking over his shoulder at his wrist computer.

‘ _Identifying weapon’s structural stress points and links to the ship._ ’ He typed something before pointing out three spots. ‘ _Here, here, and here._ ’

Miss Martian sliced through the outer layer of the ship, allowing Superboy to pull the weapon away from the base.

Movement caught your eye, and two circular objects dropped down from the weapon. You opened your mouth to warn Superboy, but Wolf got there before you did. He knocked Superboy out of the way and took the shot for him. Superboy tumbled out of the way. Wolf yelped and disappeared.

‘ _Wolf…_ ’ Miss Martian looked shocked.

‘ _There was no indication of feedback, I- I’m sorry._ ’ Robin sounded just as shocked.

‘ _Can’t do anything for him now._ ’ Superboy stalked over to the alien ship. ‘ _Let’s go._ ’ He yanked the weapon off of the ship. He jumped up and landed on top of the camouflaged bioship, allowing Miss Martian to attach it.

‘ _Rerouting systems to integrate weapon into the ship’s biomatrix._ ’ She announced, ‘ _We’ll have to de-camouflage for a few minutes._ ’ You ran over to the ship.

‘ _We may not have a few minutes!_ ’ You exclaimed, pointing out the two alien ships that were approaching fast.

‘ _Miss Martian, open fire!_ ’ Aqualad ordered.

‘ _Can’t! Weapons systems are offline to incorporate the new cannon. And that’s not fully integrated yet either!_ ’ Miss Martian explained.

‘ _Gotchya covered!_ ’ Artemis shouted, ‘ _Get inside! I’m right behind you!_ ’ She shot a few arrows, one of which hit one of the ships, causing it to explode. The other one fell from the sky, sliding through the snow. Artemis ran towards the ship, her back turned to the crashed ship.

‘ _Artemis, behind you!_ ’ You yelled as the weapon charged up.

Artemis turned to shoot but was gone in a flash of light.

“Artemis!” Miss Martian screamed. A wave of despair and sadness washed over you.

“Crock-pot?” You whispered. The weight of everything that happened crashed down upon you.

“Artemis!” Kid Flash yelled. Anger overcame you.

“Get inside.” You shouted. Aqualad joined you in running forwards. He used his water whips to destroy the ice below the ship, shooting it upwards. You shot a couple bars of white-hot flames at the ship, destroying it.

“They’re dead,” Kid Flash growled, “Every single alien. If it’s the last thing I do!”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that.” You said softly. “Let’s get back inside the ship.” Your heart felt heavy in your chest.

**~~**

You sat next to Robin with your knees pulled up to your chest. M’gann sniffled at the helm, and Wally rampaged behind you.

“There will be time to mourn later,” Kaldur said. You sighed and nodded.

“Now we have a job to do.” You said and stood up next to him. “Defend the earth, and ensure Artemis’s sacrifice was not in vain.”

“Back to the cave?” M’gann asked.

“The Hall of Justice,” Kaldur said. “The human race must still know that there are heroes defending them.”

“There is still hope.” You added. “So, it’s inspirational speech time.” You gave a sloppy, forced grin.

M’gann nodded. You walked over to Wally and wrapped your arms around him. He pulled you close and sobbed into your stomach.

“You can’t ever to that, you know?” Wally said in a raspy voice once he was done crying. “I almost lost you once. I can’t do it again.” You laughed softly.

“Of course.” You said.

**~~**

The door to the ship opened, revealing a cheering mass of soldiers.

“I’m not Superman,” You heard Superboy say as you walked up.

“I don’t know who you are, son,” A man you recognized to be General Eiling said, “And right now, I don’t care. You wear the ‘S’ and you got the job done.”

“I’m not Superman,” Superboy muttered.

“Tell that to the enemy,” Eiling smirked. He saluted to Aqualad as he came up, “General Wade Eiling, U.S. Airforce.”

“Aqualad, Justice Leauge,” Aqualad said. “We’ll help you salvage as many of the alien’s cannons as we can manage. Then we start taking back what is ours.”

**~~**

You walked into the hall after Superboy, looking up at the rubble that used to be the statues of the original Justice Leauge.

“They’re really gone…” You whispered, glancing at the space where the gigantic statue of your uncle once stood.

Miss Martian flew up to the head of the statue of Martian Manhunter, sniffling. After a few seconds, she gasped. She struggled to lift the statue, revealing Martian Manhunter himself.

“Uncle J’ohnn!” She exclaimed, ready to hug him. Aqualad stopped her.

‘ _M’gann, wait. Check his mind, make sure he is whom he appears to be._ ’ Aqualad said.

‘ _It’s him!_ ’ She said happily, ‘ _He’s real. He’s alive!_ ’

“But we saw you get disintegrated!” Superboy said. “You and Superman. And everyone!”

“Yes, I remember,” Martian Manhunter said, “But I cannot remember how I survived. Or how I arrived here.”

“Maybe you were density shifting and the beam passed right through you!” Miss Martian said.

“Scrambling your brains along the way!” Robin exclaimed.

“My mind _is_ clouded.” Martian Manhunter said. “I feel as if I had something important to tell you.”

 _‘Hello Wally,_ ’ Kid Flash smacked his forehead, ‘ _C’mon!_ ’ You ran outside with him, with Robin right behind.

‘ _I knew it! Look!_ ’ Kid Flash gestured triumphantly, ‘ _It’s giving off Zeta beams, the same stuff that powers our Zeta tubes! This thing doesn’t disintegrate, it teleports! Artemis is alive!_ ’

‘ _Maybe, but—_ ’ Robin started, but Kid Flash cut him off.

‘ _No maybes, they’re all alive!_ ’ Kid Flash exclaimed. You looked at him skeptically.

“That must have been what you wanted to tell us!” Miss Martian said. Martian Manhunter held his forehead.

You looked up as a whirring noise filled the air before grabbing Kid Flash and Robin and dragging them behind the ship.

‘ _We’re on our way,_ ’ Aqualad said.

‘ _Negative!_ ’ You said, ‘ _We can’t win this._ ’

‘ _Miss Martian, camo the bioship-_ ’ Robin cut off as a beam hit the bioship, destroying it.

‘ _We’re falling back!_ ’ Robin said. The three of you made a break for it and ran inside.

“We’re trapped!” Eiling said.

“Maybe not,” Aqualad said and walked up to the metal door. It opened, and he directed everyone inside. “We can all Zeta to the cave if you grant us computer access to the tubes,” He said to Martian Manhunter.

“I can authorize one at a time,” Martian Manhunter said.

“Send the soldiers first,” Aqualad said.

“Belay that!” Eiling said, “You seven are assets we cannot afford to lose!”

Aqualad looked to the team and then nodded.

“Override, Martian Manhunter, 07.” Martian Manhunter said.

“Recognized. Access Granted.” The computer said. Miss Martian stepped forwards.

“Recognized. Miss Martian, B-05.”

“Robin, B-01.”

“Kid Flash, B-03.”

Just as Kid Flash was about to walk through, the doors exploded. Pieces of rubble flew everywhere. Kid Flash took a step towards the fighting, but you shoved him backward and into the Zeta tube.

“He goes next!” Superboy said, helping a hurt soldier.

“Fine, but then you!” Aqualad said, “Icarus, why haven’t you gone yet?!” You hid behind a piece of rubble.

“I’ll go after Superboy!” You exclaimed. Aqualad nodded.

“Superboy, B-04.” Superboy stalked through the tube.

“Icarus, go!” Aqualad shouted.

“But-!” You protested.

“GO!” He shouted. You gulped and ran through the tube.

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 15**

_Hiiiiii It's part one! This one's kinda short bc i want to make this one episode into two or three chapters. Just to torture you._

_my fingers are okay now! So that's all good_

_School starts in a week which is a bummer._

_Sorry that this is a day late, i didn't get the chance to write while I was with my family so I had to do it on the plane ride home._

_Once again, thank you so much for all your support, I love reading your comments!_

_also, holy what?! 1k reads?! Thank you all so much._

_~Maddy_


	16. Failsafe Part 2

_The doors exploded. Pieces of rubble flew everywhere. Kid Flash took a step towards the fighting, but you shoved him backwards and into the Zeta tube._

_“He goes next!” Superboy said, helping a hurt soldier._

_“Fine, but then you!” Aqualad said, “Icarus, why haven’t you gone yet?!” You hid behind a piece of rubble._

_“I’ll go after Superboy!” You exclaimed. Aqualad nodded._

_“Superboy, B-04.” Superboy stalked through the tube._

_“Icarus, go!” Aqualad shouted._

_“But-!” You protested._

_“GO!” He shouted. You gulped and ran through the tube._  

****~~** **

“Our next mission is clear.” Robin said, “If we believe the aliens have been teleporting their victims,”

“We do,” Kid Flash put in.

“Then the only reasonable detention facility is here.” Robin pulled up an image.

“The mothership.” You said. Robin nodded.

“Ring any bells?” Robin asked.

“No, I’m sorry.” Martian Manhunter said.

“Superboy, you’ll create a distraction,” Robin said.

“No!” Miss Martian exclaimed, “He’s offering you as a sacrifice! Aqualad would never do that!”

“Your right.” You said, “Aqualad would sacrifice himself. A mistake that just cost us our leader. Robin is the most experienced out of all of us, so we need to listen to what he has to say! We can’t be bickering at a time like this!” Tears pricked the corners of your eyes. You scrubbed them hard.

“Icarus, I’m sorry.” Miss Martian said.

“Superboy is the most likely to be perceived as a threat, motivating the aliens to deploy,” Robin said.

“Worst case, he’s teleported inside, and we save him with along with Artemis. And Aqualad and everyone!” Kid Flash said.

Miss Martian nodded.

“Alright, motivational speech time.” You rubbed your hands together and pulled up a screen. “Everyone ready?” The team nodded.

“People of earth.” You said. “We are part of the Justice League. We understand that everything has been happening so fast, and it’s terrifying. But we will be there.”

“And although we know all seems lost,” Miss Martian said, “The one thing aliens cannot destroy is hope.”

“Hope survives because the battle is not over,” Superboy said, “Not as long as even one of us is willing to fight.”

“It doesn’t matter how many fall,” Kid Flash added. “Because new heroes will always rise to join the fight. Bringing all their resources, their skills, their talents, to bear and defeat the enemy.”

“The people of earth will survive this,” Robin said, “We will rebuild, and we will thrive. Never doubt, and never forget.”

“The earth will never surrender!” You placed a hand on Robin’s shoulder and closed the screen. You sighed.

“I thought I was supposed to say that?” Robin said. You shrugged.

“Sorry.” You said, “I guess I just got excited.” He rolled his eyes.

“Here.” He said, holding out a belt of—

“Are those bombs?!” You exclaimed. He sighed.

“Yes.” He said, “Just trust me, alright? You and KF are the ones I trust most right now, and if I gave these to him, I think he would probably end up exploding everyone.” You nodded.

“They’re not really there, are they…” You said quietly. Robin shook his head.

“No.”

****~~** **

Out on the fields near what used to be Smallville, the six of you stood waiting.

“First team, deploy!” Robin said. Miss Martian and Martian Manhunter flew forwards, turning invisible halfway through.

‘ _Eugh… Ready and in position._ ’ Miss Martian said.

Superboy looked at Robin. Robin nodded, and Superboy launched himself upwards and towards the ship. He tore into one of the cannons.

‘ _Be careful!_ ’ Robin reminded, ‘ _Don’t disconnect the power source!_ ’

“Alright, you glorified alien trespassers!” Superboy shouted, “You wanna see how a  _real_  alien fights?!” He used the cannon to destroy parts of the mothership. The smaller ships flew out in droves towards Superboy.

‘ _Now or never!_ ’ Superboy said. Kid Flash nodded and carried both you and Robin at breakneck speed towards the mothership. He jumped, launching the three of you into one of the hangar doors. You rolled a bit, before sprinting behind part of the wall.

Robin looked before running.

‘ _Way’s clear,_ ’ He exclaimed, ‘ _Go!_ ’

You ran after him, hiding behind a pillar as an alien passed by. They seemed more like robots than organic, reminding you of the drones on the ice planet in Star Wars.

An alien floated down behind you. It aimed to fire but was quickly smashed by Miss Martian.

You ran forwards down the hall. Miss Martian suddenly turned visible and slumped against the wall.

‘ _No…_ ’ She said softly, ‘ _He’s gone…_ ’ You ran up to her and wrapped your arms around her.

‘ _It’s alright,_ ’ Kid Flash comforted, ‘ _We’ll find him with Artemis. I know it!_ ’

‘ _No,_ ’ Martian Manhunter said, ‘ _My mind is clearer now. The disintegration beam is exactly that. There is no detention facility. No prisoners to rescue. Our mission holds no purpose._ ’

‘ _No, you’re wrong!_ ’ Kid Flash grabbed the front of Martian Manhunter’s shirt, ‘ _The Zeta radiation proves she’s alive! She’s—_ ’

‘ _Calm down, Wally,_ ’ You placed a hand on his shoulder.

‘ _I’ve been scanning for League and team signals since we got inside, they’re ** **not here****._ ’ Robin said. ‘ _Artemis is gone._ ’

‘ _But our mission still holds purpose,_ ’ You put in, ‘ _To destroy this mothership, and save everyone who has survived._ ’ Miss Martian grabbed her elbows and stood up, walking away after Robin.

You hugged Kid Flash.

“I’m sorry…” You said aloud before running after the group. He shouted in frustration before following.

The five of you ran into a brightly lit room, with an orange sphere at the center.

‘ _This is the power core._ ’ Robin said,  _‘Blow this and the whole mothership blows._ ’

You followed them in running towards the center. Robin jumped to the first platform and stumbled forward. His cape seemed to get pulled towards the center, as well as the rest of his body. Kid Flash jumped after him with you close behind, only to have the three of you get pulled with even more force towards the center. It was as if the power core had its own field of gravity.

Kid Flash grabbed your wrist as you were falling, resulting in too much weight on the grappling hook that Robin was able to deftly attach to one of the platforms. Miss Martian lowered the three of you down onto the power core.

You unstrapped the bombs you had and laid them on the floor next to Robin’s.

‘ _You knew!_ ’ Kid Flash said, ‘ _You both knew from the beginning why we were really here._ ’

‘ _Four minutes, let's go._ ’ Robin said. The bombs started flashing.

You grabbed both of their arms and flew them upwards. It was slow going, but you made it.

‘ _Wow, I didn’t think I could do that!_ ’ You said, panting, ‘ _Wally, you could stand to lose a few pounds._ ’

‘ _Wha-?!_ ’ He looked offended.

‘ _It’s a joke, dumdum._ ’ You slapped his chest and started running.

‘ _You know, I really hate you sometimes._ ’ Kid Flash ran leisurely next to you.

‘ _Love you too, bro!_ ’ You smirked.

‘ _Manhunter, take Miss Martian and go!_ ’ Robin said, ‘ _We’ll follow!_ ’

‘ _No!_ ’ Miss Martian exclaimed.

‘ _That’s an order!_ ’ Robin said. Martian Manhunter nodded and phased through the ship with Miss Martian.

“Smart move, leader.” You said. Robin glanced at you.

The three of you came up to a door.

“Let me try and see if I can get through,” He said, “You two watch my back!” You and Kid Flash nodded.

You stood in a fighting stance, ready for aliens to come down the corridor. Your breathing was labored and sweat ran down your arms.

“Almost…” Robin muttered, “Got it!” The doors opened revealing an alien that none of you were prepared for. It charged its weapon, aiming straight for Robin.

“Dick!” You screamed and shoved him out of the way. The last thing you saw was the shocked faces of your brother and the boy you pledged your heart to before everything went dark.

****~~~~~** **

****End Chapter 16** **

_Hi all_

_I'm sorry that this is so short and that it wasn't up on Saturday. I bike-packed an 80-mile section of the Colorado Trail last week, and so this is all I had written by the time I left on Tuesday. And then school started today, so Sunday was used to prep, and just_

_ugh_

_anywhey_

_nyehehehehehehe_

_What do you guys think of the chapter? It was supposed to be longer, but now it's three parts. so more drama!_

_~ Maddy_


	17. Failsafe Part 3

_"Almost..." Robin muttered, "Got it!" The doors opened revealing an alien that none of you were prepared for. It charged its weapon, aiming straight for Robin._

_"Dick!" You screamed and shoved him out of the way. The last thing you saw was the shocked faces of your brother and the boy you pledged your heart to before everything went dark._

**~~**

“No… No, no no!!!” Kid Flash yelled, falling to his knees. Robin rushed forwards, towards the alien. He dodged the metal tentacles and blew its head off with a bird-a-rang. He panted and looked over to Kid Flash in shock.

“How did she…” Robin started, but Kid Flash’s face turned murderous.

“Look at what you’ve done, Dick!” He yelled, rounding on Robin, “My sister, the girl you’ve called the love of your life, just sacrificed herself for you! She’s gone! Forever!” Tears flooded Robin’s eyes, and he sank to the ground.

“(Y/N)… No…” He whispered.

**~~**

You woke up on the cold platform with a gasp. A headache split your head, making you grab your head and groan.

“You’re all alive!” You heard M’gann say.

“What happened in there?” Batman asked.

“The exercise…” Martian Manhunter replied, “It all went wrong,”

“Exercise?” Robin asked. Tears ran down his face in a constant stream. He made no move to stop them.

“Try to remember,” Batman said, “What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn’t know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware nothing was real. Including the deaths of the entire justice league.”

“That is why you hardly grieved, even when Wolf was disintegrated before your very eyes,” Manhunter said. “But all that changed when Artemis died. Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise. And her subconscious took control, making all of you forget too.”

“I- I, I’m so sorry,” M’gann stuttered. You got up to put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” You said, “It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not her fault!” Conner repeated, “Why didn’t you stop the exercise?!”

“We tried,” Manhunter said, “But M’gann had a death-grip on the scenario. Even Artemis, who should have awakened, was so convinced she had passed, she slipped into a coma. I realized I would have to wrest control from Miss Martian’s conscious from within.

“But upon entering the reality, I was too overwhelmed by your collective emotion. There was too much noise to think clearly, to remember why I was there. The deaths of Aqualad and Superboy helped. But only when Icarus died and the mothership exploded, and Robin and Kid Flash were silenced, did my mind clear enough to remember my true purpose. To shock M’gann out of the exercise, before your comas became permanent.

“My apologies. I had no idea a training exercise could be so dangerous. So damaging…”

Captain Marvel pulled M’gann into a hug. M’gann started to sob, and you sat back down on the platform.

You put your head in your hands. Wally walked up to Robin and said a few things. Robin wiped his eyes and nodded. Wally said something else and Robin nodded again, chuckling weakly. Robin sighed and shook himself before walking over to you.

He tapped your shoulder, making you look up. He gestured for you to follow him as he walked into a hallway.

“What’s up, Robin?” You said, trying to sound okay.

“Why didn’t you tell me, (Y/N)?” Robin said, taking off his sunglasses to look you in the eyes. You sighed and took off your own glasses.

“I didn’t want you to freak out, Dick.” You look down. “I’m sorry. You’ve been so open to me about everything, and I’ve been hiding… This!” You let fire run over your fingers. You watched it for a few seconds before dousing the flames.

“I’m sorry…” You whispered.

“(Y/N)…” Dick said, hugging you suddenly. “I know.” He chuckled.

“I’ve had time to get over a ton of complicated feelings.” He said, “Anger, frustration, and… forgiveness.”

“You knew?” You said into his sweater.

“I’ve known since that mind training exercise we did before the injustice attack.” He said. “No one else has a mind like yours.”

“That long?” You asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I… wasn’t certain.” Dick said, “I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just making things up.”

He stayed silent for a moment.

“And then you shouted my name, and your brother went insane, and…” He sighed.

“I’m sorry, Dick.” You said.

“I can’t help falling in love with you, (Y/N),” Dick smirked. You looked up at him and scowled playfully.

“It doesn’t work if you just say it!” You said, “You have to sing it!”

“But what if I don’t want to?” He started swaying back and forth with you in his arms.

“Your name is very fitting right now, Dick.” You said. Dick fake gasped.

“(Y/N), that is offensive!” He said. You rolled your eyes.

“We should probably get back to the team,” You said, untangling yourself from his arms, “They’re probably wondering where we are.” You put your glasses back on, and Dick sighed, doing the same.

You started to walk away, but Dick grabbed your arm and spun you around before kissing you fiercely. He pulled away and smirked, walking away.

“I- Wha- That’s not fair!” You said, chasing him as he started to run back into the room where everyone was, “You get back here, you good-for-nothing tease!”

“Icarus, are you alright?” Batman said. You scowled.

“Your sidekick is being infuriating!” You said.

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 17**

 

_Sorry that this is late. (And super frickn' short)_

_Also sorry for the lack of update last week, school's being a bitch. AP Calculus BC can go die in a hole, along with AP Spanish. Yuck. I also have to read Fast Food Nation for AP Literature and Composition, which is an awful book. At least AP Computer Science A is easy. Oof._

_I've got a brilliant idea for the next chapter, so it may be up either later tonight or early tomorrow._

_Thanks again for all of your continued support! It means a lot to me, and gives me a ton of motivation, seeing all of your comments._

_~Maddy_


	18. Junior year is screwing me up

Helllllooooooo

its me

so im currently dying bc of schoolwork

so I'm putting icarus on a little break

like maybe 2 or three more weeks?

idk

super sorry y'all

uhhhhhhhhhhhhh

yup

~ Maddy


	19. Soon!

Hey everyone!

I'm so sorry about the long wait, I've just been overwhelmed and I was hit with horrible writers-block every time I tried to write.

However!

My school does things weirdly, so our finals are after Christmas Break, (which makes me want to die), so I'll actually have time!

Therefore!!

The next chapter will be up on Saturday, January 19th!

Thank you all so much for sticking with me!

~ Maddy

 

 

ALSO

FREAKING HELL YOU GUYS

I CAN'T FIND ANYWHERE TO WATCH YOUNG JUSTICE SEASON 3 EPISODE 1

AND IT CAME OUT ON THE 4TH


	20. Quick notice

Sorry y’all my internet’s been down all day, I’m currently uploading this with data from my phone.

 

Chapter 18 will be up as soon as I have internet again, I promise

 

Love you all!

~Maddy


	21. The Fundamental Theories of Being Strong and Hidden Words

_"What happened in there?" Batman asked._

_"The exercise..." Martian Manhunter replied, "It all went wrong,"_

_"Exercise?" Robin asked. Tears ran down his face in a constant stream. He made no move to stop them._

_"Try to remember," Batman said, "What you experienced was a training exercise. Manhunter psychically linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was that it was a train for failure exercise. No matter what the team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware nothing was real. Including the deaths of the entire justice league."_

_"That is why you hardly grieved, even when Wolf was disintegrated before your very eyes," Manhunter said. "But all that changed when Artemis died. Though consciously Miss Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise. And her subconscious took control, making all of you forget too."_

_**~~** _

_"Why didn't you tell me, (Y/N)?" Robin said, taking off his sunglasses to look you in the eyes. You sighed and took off your own glasses._

_"I didn't want you to freak out, Dick." You look down. "I'm sorry. You've been so open to me about everything, and I've been hiding... This!" You let fire run over your fingers. You watched it for a few seconds before dousing the flames._

_"I'm sorry..." You whispered._

_**~~** _

Everyone stood silently around the living area, with Kaldur and M'gann in the kitchen, Conner watching static on the TV, Wally against the breakfast bar, Artemis near him, and you and Robin on the couch. His arm was wrapped around your shoulder, and you were curled into his side.

You looked around at everyone and frowned. They all looked so gloomy, and you didn't like it. Not that you didn't feel any better yourself, but they didn't need to know that.

You disentangled yourself from Robin's arms, making him protest softly.

"What're you doing?" He said.

"You'll see," You said, "Hey team! I've got an idea."

They looked towards you.

"Why don't we have a sleepover?" You suggested. "I'm sure none of us want to be alone, after... what happened today."

M'gann nodded, hugging her arms.

"I'm game," Artemis said. She shrugged.

The other members nodded.

"So, did everyone eat lunch?" You asked, trying to lighten the mood. "I, for one, am starving. I know for certain that Wally will be hungry as well. What do you say about helping me make some food, M'gann? I'm sure you're the best cook in here." You walked into the kitchen.

**~~**

"Listen, M'gann." You said after a few minutes of cutting up lettuce. "None of us blame you. It's not your fault. Okay?" M'gann turned to you with tears in her eyes.

"But it is my fault! I took over the exercise, I could have stopped it all!" She said. You pulled her into a hug.

"Even so, it's..." You struggled for the right words, "It's a learning experience. We're all okay."

She cried into your shirt for a few moments, before gathering up her courage.

"Alright." She said. You smiled softly and nodded.

"Let's make some more sandwiches. I'm sure Wally will eat at least 15." You said, making her chuckle a bit. "Cheer up."

**~~**

"Lunch's ready!" You said with faked excitement. You put the stack of sandwiches on the counter. Wally reached forward and grabbed a sandwich.

"Damn, Icarus, these are even better than the ones mom makes," He said. You rolled your eyes.

"That's because I had the help of the best chef around," You gestured to M'gann. She blushed.

"Thanks, Icarus." She mumbled. You gave her a thumbs up. You looked over at Kaldur.

"Hey, Kal," You said, "Do you want to eat anything?" He glanced at you before shaking his head.

"No," He said, "I am not hungry." You frowned. He seemed... Off. No one in your group

"Kal, can I talk with you in the hallway?" You said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Alright...?" He walked with you to the hallway.

"Are you doing alright?" You asked, looking up at him.

"Yes, I am fine." He said, not meeting your eyes.

"No, Kaldur. You are most definitely  _not_  fine." You pointed your finger at his chest before looking concerned, "Talk to me," He sighed.

"I... was the general but behaved like a soldier..." He said, "I feel as if... as if I am not fit for command."

"Kaldur..." You sighed, "You have been the best leader I could have asked for. You're level-headed in emergencies, you know what's right from wrong without a second thought, and you are the best for this team. Besides, who would replace you?"

"I..." He cracked a small smile, "Thank you, Icarus. You are truly kind."

You winked at him and walked away.

**~~**

You walked back into the kitchen to a wave of anxiety threatening to engulf you, but you pushed it aside. Wally inhaled another sandwich. You used his antics as a distraction.

"Well, Sir Eats-A-Lot, I hope you can wash dishes as fast as you can eat what's on them?" You said, gathering up the plates that were scattered around. Wally coughed and glared at you.

"Fine." He said. You smirked.

He got up and walked over to the sink, grabbing the plates out of your hands.

You made eye contact with Artemis. She looked bored, but also a bit... sad?

"Artemis, would you be willing to dry off these glass plates that Wally washes?" You asked, "I'll put them away afterward."

"Sure," She said, "I've got nothing better to do."

"Great, thanks!" You grinned.

She walked around, picking up a dish-towel that was lying on the counter. As she passed, a mark on the counter caught your eye. You stared at it without really seeing it, aware of the things going on around you but also not, caught in a strange spot in time and space where you were aware of nothing but yourself and blocking out the intense feeling of overwhelming anxiety. There was a dull pain in your chest that grew and grew, your eyes stung as if you were going to cry, and—

"Icarus!" Wally said, his voice splitting through your head. You tore your eyes away from the spot holding your vision to look at your brother.

You looked at the dishes in front of you. There were at least five stacked up, and Artemis was in the process of drying another one. You blinked a few times before inhaling sharply.

"Oh!" You said, "Sorry!" You grabbed the plates and started walking over to the cabinets when the image of Artemis's anguished face when she was vaporized forced itself into your mind. You lost your balance, dropped the plates, and tripped forwards, onto the shards of broken glass.

"Holy shit!" Wally shouted. You sat yourself up, sitting in shock for a few moments. M'gann gasped and used her telekinesis to get the shards that weren't currently impaling you out of the way. Robin ran towards you, shouting. There was a calamity as the team rushed towards you, but the noise fell into the background as all you could hear was the blood rushing through your ears.

The feeling of anxiety overwhelmed you, and your chest tightened as tears spilled down your cheeks and blood trickled down your arms. You shakily picked yourself up, letting drops of blood drip on the floor.

The team closed in around you, the tightness making your anxiety skyrocket. You started to feel nauseous. You looked at the members around you and glanced at Robin and Wally before locking eyes with Artemis and turning around and sprinting out of the room.

"Icarus!" Wally called after you. Robin put his hand on Wally's shoulder.

"Leave this to me," Robin said, "I'll go calm her down." He walked out of the room towards where you ran.

**~~**

You were curled up in a corner of the medbay when Robin walked in.

Your eyes were fixed on one spot on the floor, and you were ignoring the blood that was now in a small puddle on the floor. Your breathing was ragged, and you had one arm around your knees while the other hand was resting on the back of your neck.

Robin sighed and sat down next to you, taking off his glasses.

The two of you sat together in silence for a few moments. Your shoulders shuddered with held back sobs, and tears ran down your face.

"I watched her die, Dick," You whispered raggedly, "I watched her die and I couldn't do anything about it. Her, and Kal, and Wolf, and Uncle Barry, and all of them. I couldn't help them at all." Your breathing grew faster and faster with your thoughts, and you were hyperventilating, your vision whirling as your brain dug deeper into that pit of despair.

"(Y/N), breath." Dick said, "Deep breaths. Breath with me, okay? In... And out... In... And out..." He crouched in front of you, lifting up your chin to look in your eyes. Your breathing steadily slowed with his.

I know how you feel, (Y/N)." He said, "It's the same way I felt when I saw you sacrifice yourself. Do you have any idea how awful that is, (Y/N)? To see the person you love disintegrate before your very eyes? It was hell."

"I'm sorry, Dick, I had no idea..." You whispered.

"Every time I close my eyes I see you shoving me out of the way, over and over and over again." He said softer, "I hear you shouting my name, and I just feel helpless."

You opened your mouth to speak but he cut you off.

"But you know what helps me?" He said, "Seeing you, here, at this moment, safe. And everyone else is safe, too. None of them are hurt. And I know that it's going to be hard to overcome this emotional trauma, but I know we can do this. Together. Okay?"

You took a deep, shaky breath, and nodded.

"Okay." You stood up and looked down at your still bleeding arms. "I should probably fix this, huh?"

"Let me," Dick said. He guided you over to the cabinets and started to patch you up.

**~~**

You walked into the living area a while later with bandages covering your arms.

"Hey guys, sorry about that." You said when they all stood up with worried expressions. "I had a mini anxiety attack, but nothing to worry about."

"Icarus, hey..." Wally said as he walked up to you. Without asking he engulfed you in a hug, which you accepted gratefully.

"I'm here, okay?" He said.

You nodded.

**~~**

A couple of hours passed, and everyone slowly settled down. There was a large pillow nest made in the living room, with sleeping bags. You looked at your watch. 9:15 pm. An early night for everyone, to be sure.

You looked around. The team was curled up in their bags, blinking slowly as if they were tired but feared what awaited them if they fell asleep.

Robin and Wally were beside you, dressed in pajamas that their mentors had gotten from home.

"Well, everyone," You said, "It's been a long day. We deserve some sleep."

You got up and turned down the lights, before curling up next to Robin.

You hoped that this would be a good night's rest, but nothing seems to go the way that we hope.

**~~**

Artemis was the first to cry out in her sleep.

"No. No, I won't do it! Dad, I won't do it!" She was hyperventilating, and she kept mumbling stuff. You were out of your bag in a flash and shook her shoulder.

"Artemis. Arty. It's okay, he's not going to make you do anything anymore, you're safe." You whispered into her ear, making sure not to wake anyone else up.

"Promise?"

"I promise, Arty. You won't ever have to do anything for him again. You're your own person. Alright?"

"Mm." Her breathing slowed, and she rolled over. You smiled softly and brushed a stray hair out of her forehead.

**~~**

Next, it was Robin. You knew what was going on.

"Mami! Tati!" He whimpered next to you. He called for his parents in Romanian, again and again. You rolled over in your sleeping bag to pull him close.

"Shh, Dick, it's okay." You whispered. Silent tears streamed down his face as he looked into your eyes.

"T-they were-"

"I know, D. I know." You put your forehead to his forehead, and he took a deep breath.

"I'm okay." He whispered.

"Of course you are."

**~~**

Kaldur was next. He was nearly shouting in Atlantean, thrashing around in his sleep. You jumped out of your sleeping bag and across the room. You placed your hands on his chest and on his forehead to calm him down.

"Kaldur'ahm." You said in a clear voice, "You're safe. You're in Mount Justice with your team around you, and you're okay. Alright? You're okay."

His eyes shot open and met yours and you smiled softly. He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes again.

You walked back over to your bag.

"Thank you, Icarus." You thought you hear him mutter.

"Anything for my team."

**~~**

Conner was about an hour after Kaldur. He was grunting and crying out and thrashing in his sleep. You grabbed his hand and his shoulders. His super strength almost threw you across the room, but you started speaking.

"Conner, remember where you are. You're not at Cadmus anymore, you're safe. We're here for you. We all are." His distraught eyes met yours. You smiled and blinked slowly.

"I'm free?" He breathed.

"As free as Superman himself."

That seemed to calm him down. He fell back asleep while you rubbed his shoulders.

~~

M'gann. You knew she was having a nightmare when you and everything around you started to float. Everyone woke up to that.

"What's--?" Artemis started.

"Shh!" You interrupted her and jumped down to pull M'gann into a hug.

"M'gann. You're alright, you're on earth. You're with your team, and everything's alright. Okay?" You said, and she opened her glowing green eyes.

"I'm safe?" She whispered.

"Very safe." You squeezed her slightly. The glow died, and she fell back asleep. You gently placed her back on the ground. You looked at the team and put a finger to your lips.

Back to your sleeping bag you went.

**~~**

Wally was last.

"(Y/N)... (Y/N)! No, come back...! Don't!"

You knew exactly what this one was about. You shook his shoulders violently and stared into his startled eyes.

"Wallace. I'm here. Alright? I'm not going anywhere, I'm okay. Alright? I'm okay."

He looked up at you, and pulled you into a crushing hug.

"God, (Y/N), I was so scared..."

"But I'm okay now. I'm safe..." You were so tired that you ended up falling asleep before him. He fell asleep with his arms wrapped around you, which turned out to be the perfect remedy for his nightmare.

**~~**

When it happened to you, you were unprepared. It was the warehouse again. This time, no one was there. The fire was endless, burning you over and over again. You saw your team, Aqualad and M'gann, Artemis and Conner, Wally and... Robin. One by one they turned to dust, disintegrating as Artemis did before, leaving you to burn.

The scream you let out was earsplitting. Half the team lept out of their bags, expecting to be attacked. Horror crept onto their faces when they realized that one of the youngest members of their team was in the middle of one of the worst night terrors of them all. You screamed again. It was heartwrenching, full of pain and anguish.

M'gann tried to reach into your mind to wake you up, but as soon as she touched you, tears rolled down her face, and she pulled away shakily. The fire in your mind consumed her thoughts, she could feel the flames burn her physically, and the loneliness there echoed her own to an extent that she did not like.

"Someone needs to wake her up. Now." She said. Wally broke out of his shock.

"Water!" He yelled, "Someone get some water!" At this, Robin realized what was going on.

"Oh,  _shit--_ " He reached down to shake your shoulders. "Wake up, C'mon, wake up, it's not real, we're here, it's not real!"

You woke up with a gasp once Conner poured icy cold water over you. You looked around at everyone gathered around you. You realized what had happened.

"Sorry, everyone." You laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of your neck, "It happened again, didn't it? Aw man... I was on a 5-day streak!" The team looked worried. "Seriously guys, I'm fine, it was nothing."

Robin crouched down next to you. "(Y/N)... Are you sure you're okay?" He said quietly.

You looked at him.

"Not really, but I'll pull through."

**~~**

Before the tears began to fall, you silently stood up and walked to the training room. You barely made it in time. Keeping everything bottled up to seem like a living ray of sunshine while living with this feeling of uselessness was one of the most difficult things you'd ever done. You punched the punching bag with all your might as soon as you made it over. Then the waterworks began.

_Useless._

You punched the bag again and sobbed with a hand over your mouth.

_Worthless._

Punch.

_Selfish._

Punch.

_You're a burden to the team._

Punch. A low wail tried to make its way through your throat.

_They don't want you._

Punch.

_You'll always be second-best to someone._

Punch.

_You couldn't save anyone._

You weakly threw another punch before sliding down to your knees. Your knuckles were bloody. The cuts on your arms from the plates had opened again. You hiccuped and sobbed again. You knew that the thoughts in your head were stupid, you  _knew_  that, but... What if they were right?

_Weak. Stupid. Moron. Liar._

_Liar._

_Liar._

_You're lying to all of them all the time._

You curled up sideways on the floor. Silent sobs wracked your body. That thought was right. You  _were_  a liar. It was true. That wouldn't change. Once everyone found out, they'd leave you again. They'd leave, and they'd never accept you. Your nails dug into your arms.

_Nothing you can do will make any difference._

Drops of blood from your arms mingled in with the tears on the floor.

You made your way back to the room after about an hour of crying. Wally was waiting. As soon as he heard you stumble in, he was instantly out of his sleeping bag, engulfing you in a hug. This gesture only brought on another wave of tears. You shoved your face into his chest and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt.

"You're okay." He whispered into your ear, "I'm here. I care about you. We all care about you. You're one of the most fundamental people on our team. In our lives."

"But I couldn't help anyone..." You sobbed quietly, only making him hug you tighter.

"I love you, sis. Nothing will ever change that, you hear me?" He said. You nodded.

"I'm alright."

_It's a lie. I'm not okay._

"You can let go."

_No, don't leave. Don't leave me alone!_

"We both know that's not happening," Wally said. "C'mon, back to the pillow nest."

You walked back with him, and Robin stood up and gave you a hug and a kiss on the head.

"Thanks, you guys." You said quietly. Your brother's response was to pull you and Robin into a big group hug before falling down onto the pillows.

You fell asleep there, in their arms, surrounded by love and support.

And for the first time in a while, you slept like a rock.

**~~~~~**

**End Chapter 18**

_Wow that was a biggie_

_Sorry if it's a bit rough, it's an amalgamation of my writing at a bunch of different times._

_But anyways, with the start of the new semester, I should be able to get back to consistent Saturday updates!_

_Thank you all so much for sticking with me through all of this, your support has been overwhelming._

_Love you all!_

_~Maddy_


	22. Hey

Listen

I’m sorry to do this all to you again

But I need to be away from everything for a while

My boyfriend’s going through a really hard time, and I need to be there for him

I’ll be back in a bit

Next update will be Valentine’s Day with a special chapter

\- Maddy


	23. Valentine's Day Special

Looking back on this time of year, you probably should have realized that Dick had liked you earlier. Each year for Valentine’s Day, he always got you some chocolate and a gift. This year, he had promised you an extravagant display of his affection. 

You woke up that morning with snow falling gently. You glanced at your phone. Nothing. Not even the good morning text you were used to seeing. Your mouth felt dry. 

It’s alright, he might have just slept in, you were pretty sure that he had patrol with Bruce the night before, so that would make sense. You trudged down the stairs, yawning. 

“Good morning, Sweety,” Your mom said, greeting you with a hug and a kiss. “Got any big plans for V-Day?”

You shook your head.

“Not really,” You said gloomily, “I think we were going to plan something for after school, but I haven’t heard anything from D since noon yesterday.”

“Aw, honey,” Your mom said, “I’m sorry. Your father and I have been together for ages and he always forgets.”

You frowned.

“But D’s never forgotten!” You said, “Every single year, he has always gotten me something. And he promised me something big today!” 

You mother drew her eyebrows together.

“Do you have any gifts for him today?” She said. You nodded. 

“Of course.” You said. “They’re in a bag upstairs. Anyways, mom. Where’s Wally? He’s normally up by now.”

“You brother had to run to do something earlier this morning,” She said, “Something about helping someone with something. He’ll be back soon enough to take you to school.” 

You shrugged.

“Okay.” You said. You felt a sinking feeling in your heart that you pushed aside.

 

Wally walked in a few minutes later.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” He said, jogging over to the kitchen table.

“Man, I am starved,” He shoved a couple pieces of toast in his mouth and talked around them, “Had me working to the  _ bone _ , that b-” He made eye contact with you and cut off.

“Uhhhhhhhhh, I mean,” He stalled, “I was… Training with Uncle Barry! Yeah, he had me working so hard, and it was so early, we were running all over the place! Anyways, ready to go, (Y/N)?” 

You rolled your eyes and adjusted your uniform. Wally was being Wally.

**~~**

You walked into school that morning wrapped in jackets. The cold winter Gotham wind bit into your nose, and you shivered. Normally you’d have Dick to walk with, but he wasn’t there, with no sign that he had been there in a while. You texted him for the third time this morning.

 

**Coffee-holic:** Hey, D, are you sick or something? I miss you :(

 

You scrolled back to read the previous messages.

 

February 13th, 11:59 am

**♡Bird Boy♡:** What’re we doing for lunch?

**Coffee-holic:** Do you wnat to go to Big Belly Burger?

**Coffee-holic:** **want

 

February 14th, 6:30 am

**Coffee-holic:** Happy Valentines Day, baby

 

February 14th, 7:30 am

**Coffee-holic:** Wow, I guess you were pretty tired, huh? Text me when you wake up, okay?

 

You sighed and glanced up the hallway. Even though Gotham Prep was an extremely preppy school, they sure didn’t hold out on the Valentine’s Day decorations. Pink balloons hung from the ceiling, intertwined with streamers and hanging hearts. Every time you passed by a couple in the hallway, you felt your heart sink a little more.

Your hand missed holding his as you walked down the hallways to your classes. You could feel the itch in the back of your mind to check your phone every other second, to see if he had texted back.

 

9:00 am. 

Nothing.

 

10:00 am.

You felt a buzz and immediately pulled out your phone to check, _ To hell with Mr. Fjelt’s rules about phones _ , but it wasn’t Dick. Just Wally sending you a meme. You sighed.

 

12:00 pm.

Nothing

 

3:00 pm.

Nothing. You were starting to get dejected.

_ He forgot, didn’t he? _

_ The first Valentines we’re together, and he forgets. _

_ Am I not good enough? _

_ Oh, no, I’ve probably been bothering him too much. _

_ Yeah, he’s annoyed and he doesn’t want to be around me today. _

_ He’s doesn’t- _

 

4:00 pm.

Your phone buzzed just as school let out. Your heart lept in your chest. 

 

**♡Bird Boy♡:** Meet me at the basketball court behind the school in 15 minutes.

**Coffee-holic:** ????

**Coffee-holic:** Dick, what the hell

 

All of the feelings that had been tumbling around inside your head all day suddenly formed together into one emotion that dominated your senses. 

Rage. 

 

How  _ dare _ he?

He was your  _ boyfriend _ for god’s sake!

 

You packed your bag and stormed to the court.

Once you saw him standing there, relief and welcome threatened to overwhelm the pulsing rage within you. You pushed them aside, you were  _ pissed. _

“Oh, wow, now he shows up!” You snarled as you walked up to him. “Look at me, I’m the mighty Dick Grayson, too pompous to even give my own girlfriend a text on  _ Valentine’s Day _ , for fuck's sake! I’m going to ignore her for the entire day, instead of showering her in love and affection like I’m  _ supposed  _ to! I-”

Dick cut you off by grabbing your shirt tightly and pulling you in to kiss you fiercely. You melted into him, and your body felt as if it had finally been renourished of something it had been lacking all day.

He pulled away and held your face in his hands.

“Holy fuck,” Dick whispered and ran a finger across your cheek, “I missed you. I know I’ve been awful today, and I am so so so sorry. I’m here now, and I’ve got something to show you.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“You need to put this on first.” He handed you a blindfold.

You look at him weirdly.

“Fine,” You said, taking off your backpack and putting on the blindfold, “You’re going to have to deal with my backpack though.”

You heard him snicker. He spun you around and around and around so that you were disoriented and couldn’t tell which way you were facing. 

He walked forwards, guiding you along. You heard your footsteps echo on the court and then the rush of traffic.

“Good Afternoon, Miss (Y/N),” You felt rough hands lightly rest against your arms.

“Oh, hello, Alfred!” You said as you heard a car door open and the sounds of traffic cut as you were put inside.

 

Alfred drove you around for a while before the car door opened again and Dick guided you around outside again. The crunch of cold gravel was loud after the soft hum of the car.

You walked forwards into a blanket of warm air as you stepped inside. Dick lead you through some hallways, and judging by the echoes of your footsteps, some were large and some were small. Dick lead you down several flights of stairs before up another set and then down again. It was clear you were in Wayne Manor, but where you hadn’t the faintest clue.

You stayed silent as a door creaked open loudly and then closed behind you. Dick stopped moving, and slowly took the blindfold off of you.

 

You lightly gasped. You were in the library. The furniture had been crowded around one spot to help prop up bunches of blankets that had been set up in a small fort. There were pillows and more blankets inside the fort, along with small lit candles and a plate of cookies. Dick’s laptop was set up to play a queue of your favorite movies. 

He grabbed your hand and pulled you into the fort.

 

A couple of hours later, you looked up at Dick. He looked back at you.

“This is amazing…” You whispered, cupping his face in your hands. He smiled.

“I’m glad you like it,” He said, kissing you lightly, “Happy Valentine’s Day, (Y/N).”

 

**~~~~~**

**~ _fin~_**

_Heyyyyyooooo!_

_I hope you like this special chapter :)_

_Next Saturday, we're back to the original storyline!_

_~Maddy_

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first fanfic! Please don't kill me for my horrible writing.  
> Read this work on Wattpad at my account @Madduku


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